South Sudan

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South Sudan's First Vice President Riek Machar appeared in court under tight security in Juba to face charges of treason, murder and crimes against humanity related to a March attack by the White Army youth militia on a military barracks in Nasir, Upper Nile state, Reuters reported on Sept. 22.

South Sudan: Vice President's Treason Trial Begins Following Clashes in the North

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A faction within South Sudan's opposition Sudan People's Liberation Movement-In-Opposition party (SPLM-IO), which supports suspended First Vice President Riek Machar, called for armed mobilization to pursue "regime change," AFP reported on Sept.15.

South Sudan: Opposition Demands Regime Change After Treason Charges Filed Against First Vice President

South Sudan's First Vice President Riek Machar has been suspended and charged with treason, crimes against humanity and murder over his alleged links to the White Army, an ethnic Nuer militia, Reuters reported on Sept. 11. 

South Sudan: Vice President Machar Suspended Amid Escalating Violence

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Egyptian Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty held phone calls on Aug. 21 with his counterparts from Sudan, South Sudan, Uganda and Kenya during which he stressed Egypt's "categorical rejection of unilateral measures" on the eastern Nile Basin and said "water security" was "existential" for Egypt, Addis Standard reported on Aug. 22.

Egypt: Cairo Courts Upstream Nile Basin States With Promise of Development Support  

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The U.S. State Department issued a memo giving 36 countries 60 days to meet new department requirements or be added to a travel ban implemented on June 9, The Washington Post reported on June 14.

U.S.: Trump Administration Considers Adding 36 More Countries to Travel Ban

The South Sudanese government recaptured the town of Nasir from the Nuer-led White Army militia, Reuters reported on April 21.

South Sudan: Government Recaptures Strategic Town of Nasir 

Gen. Mohammed Hamdan Dagalo, leader of the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces, or RSF, announced on April 15 the formation of a rival administration called the Government of Peace and Unity, AP reported the following day.

Sudan: Paramilitary Group Declares Formation of New Rival Government

The house arrest of South Sudan's Vice President Riek Machar and his wife, Interior Minister Angelina Teny, has effectively ended the 2018 peace agreement that resolved the 2013-18 civil war, according to Machar's party, BBC reported on March 27. 

South Sudan: Vice President's Party Says His Arrest Ends 2018 Peace Deal

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Over the next decade, Kenya and Tanzania will compete for the title of East Africa's leading trade gateway, particularly as global demand for Central Africa's critical minerals grows. 

The Geopolitics of Trade: The Race to Unlock East Africa, Part 1 

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Shipping containers are offloaded from a vessel at Berbera Port in Somaliland on Aug. 31, 2021.   (ED RAM/AFP via Getty Images)

The UAE is expanding its influence across East Africa through large-scale investments and security partnerships, aiming to consolidate its status as a global trade hub and counter regional competitors, at the risk of entangling regional states in broader geopolitical contests.

The UAE's Long Game in East Africa

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Who are the main actors involved, and what are the primary goals influencing the conflict?

Essential Geopolitics: South Sudan's Evolving Political and Security Outlook

South Sudan's President Salva Kiir (right) waves as he arrives in Nairobi, Kenya, on May 9, 2024, for the launch of new peace talks with rebel groups.

Rising political tensions risk collapsing the peace deal that ended the country's last civil war, while escalating clashes in the north risk drawing in involvement from Sudan's warring parties.

South Sudan Hurtles Toward Another Civil War

Central African Republic

A Rwandan soldier walks in front of a burned truck near Palma in Mozambique’s Cabo Delgado region on Sept. 22, 2021. 

Rwanda’s expanding troop deployments in other African countries seek to enhance its regional political and economic influence, but entail risks that could harm its operations and reputation.

Rwanda's Growing Military Influence in Africa: Opportunities and Risks

Sudanese army soldiers patrol an area in Khartoum on Nov. 3, 2024.

The warring sides' deep distrust and their external backers' competing interests portend a protracted conflict that may expand into South Sudan and Chad, and heighten jihadist activity.

The Security Implications of Sudan's Ongoing Civil War

Sub-Saharan Africa

South Africa

Supporters of former South African President Jacob Zuma sing and chant in Tembisa, South Africa, during a recruitment drive for Zuma's newly launched uMkhonto we Sizwe party on Jan. 21, 2024.

Of the 13 countries holding elections this year, Senegal, South Africa, Chad, Ghana and South Sudan's ballots will likely be the most politically and economically impactful.

Previewing Sub-Saharan Africa's 2024 Elections

Snapshots

South Sudanese military police officers sit on a pickup truck as they monitor the area during a deployment ceremony for South Sudan's unified forces at the Luri Military Training Center in Juba on Nov. 15, 2023. 

If a coup destabilizes South Sudan's fragile power-sharing government, the country could return to civil war.

Coup Rumors in South Sudan Highlight Continued Risk of Political Instability and Civil War 

Eritrea

Togo

People flee their neighborhoods in Khartoum, Sudan, amid fighting between the army and paramilitary troops on April 19, 2023. 

Government institutions in eastern and western Africa remain relatively strong, but potential succession crises, simmering unrest and weak leaders still pose latent risks.

Assessing the Risk of Future African Coups, Part 2: West and East Africa

Workers load luggage onto a vehicle that belongs to refugees from Sudan who entered Ethiopia in Metema on May 5, 2023.

South Sudan's tenuous peace wavers as Sudan's civil war rages on, placing the broader region at risk of a humanitarian crisis.

Sudan's Civil War Endangers South Sudan's Fragile Peace

Mali

Women sit under U.N.-branded cardboard boxes in Semera, Ethiopia, on Feb. 14, 2022, as they wait to be registered by the authorities at a hotel compound hosting civilians fleeing violence. 

Social Issues

GBV is often primarily seen as a women’s and human rights issue. But in sub-Saharan Africa, it is also a key constraint to stable (and democratic) governance, economic growth, and lasting peace.

The Geopolitics of Gender-Based Violence in Africa

The president of the Democratic Republic of Congo, Felix Tshisekedi, speaks during the African Union (AU) Summit in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, on Feb. 5, 2022.

Security

East African Integration

Congo's ports will grant the East African Community access to the Atlantic Ocean, but the country's overall poor infrastructure and security will limit the volume of trade with other bloc members. 

How Congo's EAC Membership Will Alter Trade in East Africa

South Sudan is a landlocked state in East-Central Africa whose capital is Juba. The country is bordered by Sudan to the north, Ethiopia to the east, Kenya, Uganda and the Democratic Republic of the Congo to the south, as well as the Central African Republic to the west.    South Sudan is also the youngest country in the world. Since gaining independence from Sudan in 2011, it has experienced ongoing instability, including civil war and famine. Amid the nascent country's many problems, South Sudan's main challenge is the management of its various ethnic groups. Indeed, much of the nation's civil war has stemmed from battles for power between its major ethnic groups.    The country's lack of sea access has also restricted its economic prospects because of the associated high cost of imports and exports. As it is, transport links throughout Central and East Africa are poor, but South Sudan's logistical problems are naturally exacerbated by its instability and violence.    Still, South Sudan does boast proven oil reserves – something that has driven foreign interest in the area for decades. Nevertheless, the unlikelihood that hostilities will end anytime soon, coupled with the further erosion of Juba's control over territory, has greatly complicated investment in the oil industry. Accordingly, there appears little chance that South Sudan will rectify its deep structural deficiencies and end the fighting among its major ethnic groups anytime soon.

SITUATION REPORTS

South Sudan: Vice President's Treason Trial Begins Following Clashes in the North

South Sudan: Opposition Demands Regime Change After Treason Charges Filed Against First Vice President

South Sudan: Vice President Machar Suspended Amid Escalating Violence

Egypt: Cairo Courts Upstream Nile Basin States With Promise of Development Support

U.S.: Trump Administration Considers Adding 36 More Countries to Travel Ban

South Sudan: Government Recaptures Strategic Town of Nasir

Sudan: Paramilitary Group Declares Formation of New Rival Government

South Sudan: Vice President's Party Says His Arrest Ends 2018 Peace Deal

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