About 400,000 people are estimated to have been killed in the war , including notable atrocities such as the 2014 Bentiu massacre . Although both men have supporters from across South Sudan 's ethnic divides , subsequent fighting has had ethnic undertones . Kiir 's Dinka ethnic group has been accused of attacking other ethnic groups and Machar 's Nuer ethnic group has been accused of attacking the Dinka . More than 4 million people have been displaced , with about 1.8 million of those internally displaced , and about 2.5 million having fled to neighboring countries , especially Uganda and Sudan . Fighting in the agricultural heartland in the south of the country has soared the number of people facing starvation to 6 million with famine breaking out in some areas . The country ’s economy has also been devastated . According to the IMF , real income has halved since 2013 and inflation is more than 300 % per annum
2014 Bentiu massacre
2014 Bentiu massacre
South Sudanese Civil War