South Sudan's President Kiir pledges no return to war in independence speech

South Sudan President Salva Kiir during his 10th independence day speech, pledged that he would not let the country return to war again. The country stepped into its 10th year of independence on July 9, Thursday. South Sudan witnessed its independence after decades of catastrophic civil war that killed nearly 4 lakh people and unsettled many.

“I assure you that I will not return you to war again. Let us work all together to recover the last decade and put our country back to the path of development in this new decade,” he said in an address to the nation.

Political instability and Economic Crisis

The world’s newest nation declared independence from Sudan on July 9, 2011, after decades of struggle against Sudan in demand of statehood. Salva Kiir swore in as the President along with Riek Machar as Deputy. After 10 years of independence, the South Sudanese government is still grappling with political instability and economic crisis. Often there are brawls between Sudan and South Sudan over Heglig oil fields. In 2012, both the countries clashed over occupations over crude oil production in the area. South Sudan halted its crude oil production in January, after accusing Khartoum of theft.

Civil war

Deputy President Machar accused Kiir of 'dictatorial' behaviour after he was fired by Kiir in 2013, which pushed the country into Civil War. Rival army units- Kiir's Dinka group and Machar's Nuer group engaged in war at Juba. Both the entities agreed to Peace in 2015. However, Kiir accused Machar of an attempt to murder and sent him to exile in 2016.

Peace Deal and Progress

In 2018, Kiir and Machar met to sign a peace accord after the war killed over 4 lakh people in the country. In March 2020, Machar was reinstated in the South Sudanese government. Since then the country has been focused on the implementation of the peace accord and elimination of armed conflict. South Sudan has just begun to draft its Constitution on May 25.