Carnegie Endowment for International Peace
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Within two years of its formation in 2011, bad blood between South Sudan’s two most powerful leaders had flared into violence. On the six-year anniversary of hostilities breaking out, a revamped peace deal looks like the country’s best chance of restoring order.
Hope for a lasting peace following South Sudan’s independence has receded with Sudan and South Sudan already engaged in acts of war. In many ways, both sides need conflict with the other as a diversionary tactic for their own internal problems so neither is anxious to reach a settlement.
With the final results from the referendum indicating that the south voted for independence in a landslide, the stage is set for the world’s newest country to be officially born in July.
While the upcoming referendum in Sudan is expected to proceed relatively smoothly, the threat of violence looms large with immediate concern over the sharing of oil revenues, the yet-to-be-demarcated border, and the status of southerners currently living in the north.