Analysis: South Sudan at a crossroads
By Stephen Graham
NAIROBI, 2 October 2014 (IRIN) - The failure of peace talks and the end of
South Sudan's wet season could unleash fresh fighting between government
forces and rebel factions, propelling millions of people in the world's
youngest nation back towards a man-made famine, analysts and humanitarian
workers warn.
Nine months of bad-tempered negotiations have yet to produce a firm
ceasefire, let alone a political deal to end a conflict punctuated by
atrocities. Skirmishes have continued in areas close to where thousands of
civilians are crammed into UN bases. There are fears that both sides have
used the seasonal lull to re-arm.
Surging violence would roil plans by the UN and humanitarian partners to use
the dry season to patch up roads and other infrastructure and pre-position
critical supplies before the meagre returns from the current disrupted
harvest run out in early 2015. The rains usually begin to ease by late
October.
"It is going to be a combination of a quieter environment for the people of
this country, plus the continuation of a large aid operation, that will help
people get through the dry season," Toby Lanzer, the UN humanitarian
coordinator in South Sudan, told IRIN. "If either of those two are absent,
disaster will occur.".........
Read it in PDF attachment below:
Berhane
Received on Thu Oct 02 2014 - 11:38:34 EDT