South Sudan: The War the World Forgot

April 3, 2016

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You have likely heard of the war in Syria, but what if there was a war going on that was just as deadly that you rarely hear about? Well, there is. It is in South Sudan. New York Times writer Nicholas Kristof has been through some of the areas most affected by fighting and said it seems “as many civilians are dying in the war here in South Sudan as in Syria”. Over 50,000 people have been killed in the past 2 years in South Sudan, and 2.4 million have been forced to flee their homes, but little is being reported. Syria has received 50 times more coverage than South Sudan. South Sudan is not the first African conflict Western media has ignored. “This is one of the most horrendous human rights situations in the world, with massive use of rape as an instrument of terror and weapon of war – yet it has been more or less off the international radar,” said UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Zeid Ra`ad Al Hussein. “There’s been profound suffering by the civilian population,” said David Marshall, UN Human Rights Assessment official. “The conflict that began in 2013 has intensified in 2015, particularly in one state, Unity State,” Mr Marshall said. “There needs to be a commitment to end the violence, and then there needs to be a commitment on accountability – meaningful accountability.” The International Committee of the Red Cross is one of the organisations on the ground working to improve the lives of civilians, and they said violence against the population has been horrific. They said the largest problem they are dealing with is hunger, followed by addressing violence towards civilians, but also reconnecting families, who have been separated as they flee attacks. Check out the ICRC’s website or “The Killing Field” in the New York Times for more information on the war the world forgot.