# data[].attributes.body
Why did the civil war start and how did it effect the people of Sudan?

# data[].attributes.body
Map of Sudan and South Sudan

# data[].attributes.headline
Why the Sudanese Civil War has happened 

# data[].attributes.subject
Why the Sudanese Civil War has happened 

# data[].attributes.body
Reasons for the Sudanese civil war

Religious

Cultural

Political

# data[].attributes.body
Sudan and South Sudan were both formally colonies of the United Kingdom leading to them having some of their culture destroyed along with them gaining the culture of The Uk. This mostly took place in South Sudan where many British soldiers and missionaries spread Christianity to the people of South Sudan

Another thing about Sudanese culture is that both Sudan and South Sudan were forced to become the country of Sudan by the Uk.

Link

# data[].attributes.attachment_caption
Purple represents Muslim beliefs while blue represents other religions in Sudan. Helps show the difference in religion between Sudan and South Sudan

# data[].attributes.body
The difference in religion lead to many people disagreeing with each other and people using that to cause friction between the people.Link

# data[].attributes.attachment_caption
Helps show the difference in religion and culture of Sudan and South Sudan 

# data[].attributes.body
The civil war in Sudan lead to militant groups forming to prevent soldiers from both sides from looting and stealing from citizens. These groups were meant to protect the people but lead to these groups also becoming private military’s that would serve as mercenaries and assist in the war along with doing the opposite of what they were made for.

# data[].attributes.attachment_caption
South Sudan's civil war spirals into genocide, leaving ghost towns in its wake. Shows the after effects of the civil war and how it is causing the people of Sudan and South Sudan to suffer.

# data[].attributes.body
The contents of the video

The civil war has lead to the UN going to South Sudan to set up refugee centers but they have been criticized for how well they do their jobs due to them not defending refugees from attacks from militant groups and murders.

Militant groups have forced Sudanese people to eat their own family and children.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
South Sudan's civil war spirals into genocide, leaving ghost towns in its wake

# data[].attributes.body
The civil war in Sudan has caused thousands of deaths and has lead to famine in Sudan along with many people dying to starvation. With this many militant groups were created and many people are suffering.

Another result from the civil war was the south Sudanese civil war that was started due to the militant groups and political figures trying to get a grab at power.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Ten years ago, on July 9, 2011, South Sudan gained its long-fought independence from Sudan. Since then, the new country descended into a bloody seven-year civil war, and while a peace deal was inked by warring parties in 2018, fighting between communities, as well as government human rights abuses, rage on. This created the conditions for a devastating famine that now has millions in its grip. Senior Web Producer Paul Aufiero speaks with Researcher Nyagoah Tut Pur about challenges facing South Sudan and what should happen to finally fulfill the promises of independence.
What are some of the biggest challenges South Sudan has today?
South Sudanese voted to secede from Sudan in January 2011 and became an independent state on July 9 that year. The excitement and energy were unparalleled. But in December 2013, a civil war dashed the hopes and plans of the new nation.

The war was fought between the government forces of President Salva Kiir, armed opposition group Sudan People's Liberation Army-in Opposition (SPLA-IO), led by now first vice president, Riek Machar, and other armed groups and affiliated militias. In accordance with the 2018 peace deal, they formed the Revitalized Transitional Government of National Unity in February 2020. Since the new government includes members of previously warring parties, related violence has declined. The peace deal, however, is tenuous as its implementation has been delayed. It is also deemed to have not addressed the root causes of the war, including grudges between the country's leaders.

But violence between communities has increased, due in part to spillover grievances from the war and competition over land, cattle, and grazing, resulting in hundreds of thousands of people being killed or displaced. Political and military leaders have added to the violence by supplying weapons to communities. Additionally, a conflict in parts of Central Equatoria between government forces and the armed opposition group, National Salvation Front, has included many attacks on civilian populations.

The human rights situation also remains dire. The space for citizens to question authorities or participate in issues of governance has shrunk. Rather than treating media and press as allies in building the new nation, authorities have moved to silence them. A crackdown during the civil war that saw journalists and activists attacked, detained, surveilled, and forced to self-censor by security services has continued today. In August 2020, soldiers and police shot at protestors marching against the killing of civilians by soldiers in Sherikat. In March 2021 police arrested youth protesting the state of public roads and health services.

Despite the government's attempts to muzzle free speech and information, young people are using creative approaches to organize, raise awareness, discuss important issues, and call for change. Social media and blogging websites have provided much-needed alternative civic space.

But authorities need to ensure traditional media can also operate unrestrained.

The government has also failed to invest in infrastructure and basic services like education and health care. Over 4.8 million children are out of school due to inaccessibility and limited provision of education opportunities and Covid-19 school closures. For girls, access to education is hindered by poverty, violence, child marriage, and cultural biases that undermine their equality. One third of schools are damaged or destroyed due to attacks against education and the use of schools by armed forces and groups.

About 8 million people in South Sudan are facing hunger or famine conditions. Poverty is pervasive and limited support for peoples' livelihoods has enhanced violence in communities. Aside from getting little help from their own government, South Sudan relies heavily on aid support, much of which dried up due to conflict and donor countries mistrust of the government's unaccountable spending and corruption.
How did we get here?
The government formed in 2011 to lead South Sudan was weak from the start. The referendum that led to independence from Sudan resulted from a peace process that ended one of Africa's longest wars, but it did not account for the years of brutality all sides committed against civilians. It also failed to address the deep disenfranchisement and grievances of many in the south that were already creating new armed insurgencies.

The civil war that broke out in December 2013 was a result of a power struggle between the political elite who manipulated ethnic divisions and grievances. The new unity government was set up to end the violence, but it has done little to end the human rights abuses.
How has the government held up its promises since independence?
The government has mismanaged resources, failed to clamp down on corruption, and has not delivered on promises to invest in education and fight hunger. For ten years, the government has been absent in peoples' lives. Politicians have exploited ethnic divisions and community grievances at the local level, creating more conflict. And there is little recourse for justice, as judicial infrastructure in South Sudan is virtually broken.

Many essential services, like education, health, and providing water and sanitation, are left to humanitarian agencies and local organizations. But the government has failed to end obstruction of humanitarian aid or protect humanitarian workers. At least 128 aid workers, most of them South Sudanese, have been killed since the war began, and there has been little accountability.
Do people in South Sudan have a chance for justice?
The peace deal establishes what is meant to be a holistic approach to justice. It includes the creation of a commission for truth, reconciliation, and healing to investigate the legacies of war and recommend remedies for victims' groups and survivors. It also proposes a reparations authority to award compensation to individuals who have suffered material damages to their property. Finally, it provided that a hybrid court be established with the African Union to try individuals most responsible for the abuses committed during the war and throughout a 36-month transitional period. In January 2021 the government finally gave approval to establish these institutions, including the war crimes court. Now, the government should follow through.

The government also has to build credible institutions in South Sudan for justice and security. People need to believe their leaders can treat them equally and fairly, and that they can rely on their leaders to protect them and provide for their basic rights and needs.
You were in South Sudan in 2013 when the war broke out. What was that like?
I had just graduated university and flew home two nights before the fighting started. During the night of December 15, we heard gunfire coming from the military base in Bilpham, and assumed it was soldiers celebrating. At that point, no one really knew what was going on. The next morning, my sister and I were preparing to go to work when our aunt and her family came and said she had been running and hiding all night, that soldiers were hunting people and fighting each other. We started making calls, trying to figure out what was going on, and someone said, "Riek Machar has rebelled, the country is at war."

I was born in Ethiopia as a refugee because my family had fled the war in Sudan, but this was the first time I was hearing the bullets and seeing the chaos. My family and I eventually went to a United Nations base and stayed there for two weeks. Many people in that area who stayed in their homes were attacked and killed. Eventually, we risked leaving the UN base and traveled by car over the border to Uganda and then to Kenya.

Soon after, I began documenting the horrors of the war - the rapes, the killings, the brutal attacks, and detentions - and the abuses committed by the government and opposition forces, first for a local then international organization. Having been a witness as a young South Sudanese who had great ambitions for her future and country, I have helped build an accurate historical representation of what the war has done to our country and to find solutions that will not gloss over the abuses, the pain, and horror.
Do any of those stories stand out to you now?
At the height of the offensive in Unity state in May 2015, I spoke with one woman who walked into a United Nations camp carrying three of her children in a basket on top of her head and with her young daughter walking behind. Her father and husband had both been killed, and her children had witnessed it. She had spent five days wading through a swamp with her children, eating waterlilies. Her testimony, along with her strength and grace were symbolic of how the war had impacted civilians, including their mental health.
What gives you hope for South Sudan's future?
What started with so much excitement and anticipation has led to frustrating transition due to the war. Healing and moving the country forward is easier said than done.

South Sudan has among the youngest population in the world, with more than 70% under the age of 30. They were told that independence and the new country was for them. And despite living through violence and disenfranchisement, lots of youth in South Sudan are creative and have great potential. The promises of the liberation were about progress, human rights, and not being seen as second-class citizens. South Sudanese people, and particularly young people, need to be able to feel that they own independence, and they own the future.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Ten years ago, on July 9, 2011, South Sudan gained its long-fought independence from Sudan. Since then, the new country descended into a bloody seven-year civil war, and while a peace deal was inked by warring parties in 2018, fighting between communities, as well as government human rights abuses, rage on.

# data[].attributes.body
I didn't understand that Southern Sudan had been a dangerous place for decades.

Dau, John Bul. Lost Boy Lost Girl p.16

This shows us that they didn’t understand how dangerous South Sudan had and has been. And what was happening around them until they were attacked and had lost their family.

Koko and I fell farther and farther behind, until the rustling of bodies pressing through the dense vegetation before us grew distant. It was then, between the sporadic pulse of gunfire and the desperate cries from fallen villagers, I first heard their voices. The Nuer rebels.

Deng, Achut. Don’t Look Back A Memoir of War, Survival, and My Journey From Sudan To America p.51

In the memoir they had to keep up with fully grow adults and keep pace with them or they would be left behind while they were being chased by the same group that tore apart their family and many others. This shows another way in which the civil war has hurt the people of Sudan with the people who are supposed to rebel for the people turning against the people.

# data[].attributes.attachment_caption
United States Provides More Than $288 Million in Additional Humanitarian Assistance to South Sudan | Press Release | South Sudan | U.S. Agency for International Development

# data[].attributes.body
Many people have tried to help the Sudanese people with the creation of refugee camps along with sending economic aid to South Sudan to help their food crisis sending $288 Million Dollars for humanitarian aid.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.provider_name
U.S. Agency for International Development

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
The United States, through the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), is providing more than $288 million in additional humanitarian assistance to the people of South Sudan as populations across the country face the most severe levels of acute food insecurity and malnutrition since independence in 2011. The new funding was announced today by U.S. Ambassador to South Sudan Michael J. Adler during a visit to Aweil in Northern Bahr el Ghazal State.

An estimated 7.8 million people - approximately two-thirds of South Sudan's population - are likely to face crisis or worse levels of food insecurity during the coming lean season, including nearly 3 million people who are likely to face emergency levels of acute food insecurity and 43,000 people projected to experience catastrophic food insecurity in areas affected by conflict and climatic shocks. Wherever the United States provides humanitarian assistance, it does so on the basis of need. At the same time, we recognize that human factors lie at the root of the humanitarian crisis in South Sudan. These include subnational violence, which also limits humanitarian access, as well as poor public financial management. The United States calls upon the Revitalized Transitional Government of National Unity to take urgent action to address these issues.

This additional funding will enable USAID's partner the UN World Food Programme address the acute humanitarian needs to help as many as 2.2 million of the most food-insecure people in South Sudan. The funding will support provision of life-saving food assistance, health care services, and nutrition to crisis-affected populations, as well as logistics support to transport humanitarian cargo and personnel to hard-to-reach areas in greatest need.

Persistent violent conflict, deteriorating economic conditions, successive years of flooding, and the effects of the global food crisis continue to drive displacement, disrupt livelihoods, and limit agricultural production and access to markets across South Sudan, while also hindering the delivery of humanitarian assistance. The United States continues to stand with the people of South Sudan, working to save lives and alleviate suffering of those most in need.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
United States Provides More Than $288 Million in Additional Humanitarian Assistance to South Sudan | Press Release | South Sudan | U.S. Agency for International Development

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
The United States, through the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), is providing more than $288 million in additional humanitarian assistance to the people of South Sudan as populations across the country face the most severe levels of acute food insecurity and malnutrition since independence in 2011.

# data[].attributes.body
Link