(ANS - Juba) - The war in South Sudan is two years old today. The scarcity of resources and the absence of strong institutions have plunged the youngest country in the world into a conflict that is causing people to lose hope.

On 15 December 2013 armed clashes occurred in the area of ​​Mumuki, south of the capital, Juba, between the Presidential Guard and the Army of Liberation of the People of Sudan. Ten days later the President of South Sudan, Salva Kir, announced that there had been an attempted coup orchestrated by his former vice-president, Riek Machar, and that the situation was under control. Nevertheless, a curfew was imposed in the country. However, not only was the situation not under control, but violence began to spread across the country.

The vast majority of the people of southern Sudan had decided to become an independent country through the 2011 referendum. Now, two years since the start of the conflict, the country is still suffering the serious consequences of war. Out of about 10 million inhabitants, the conflict has already caused more than 50,000 deaths, 645,000 refugees and 1.6 million internally displaced persons. Over 20% of the population had to leave their homes, either to flee abroad or to find a safe place, such as the Gumbo Salesian mission in Juba, the capital. To make matters worse, the two years of intense war have also caused a severe food crisis.

Despite the peace agreement reached on 26 August last, when the warring sides agreed upon the cessation of hostilities and the formation of a national unity government that would represent all the components of the complex political mosaic of south Sudan, the violence has not ended. Only a week ago the government troops and the rebels were still fighting near the town of Yambio.

The Salesians in South Sudan have been coping with this situation in the four cities in which they are present, since their arrival in 1982: Juba, the capital; Maridi, Wau and Tonj. The Salesians in Juba are experiencing the conflict in a particularly intense way. Since the beginning of the violence they have opened their doors to all who have come to them in search of safety. At present, over 2,000 people have taken refuge in their buildings, and 500 displaced children and young people are attending daily classes in the school that the Salesians have opened for them.

Source: Misiones Salesianas

Published 15/12/2015