Things Are Dire In South Sudan But Aid Workers See Signs Of Hope 
 
 Enlarge this image toggle caption Eric Kanalstein/AP Eric Kanalstein/AP 
 
 On Sunday, aid worker Jeremiah Young couldn't tell if he was hearing thunderclaps or bombs. 
 
 That's the scene in Juba, capital of South Sudan. Rainy season has begun. And intense fighting broke out on Thursday — a new round of fighting between supporters of the vice president and troops backing the president. Heavy gunfire was exchanged, along with mortar and grenade explosions. 
 
 As the conflict erupted, an estimated 30,000 people fled their homes, seeking safer ground. Another 30,000 had previously sought shelter in what's called a "Protection of Civilian" site in the city that's run by the U.N. There were reportedly more than 150 deaths. 
 
 Amid this burst of conflict and chaos, aid groups struggle to function. Goats and Soda spoke to Young, who works for World Vision, and Leslie McTyre, a program coordinator for the International Medical Corps, about the challenges of providing humanitarian aid. 
 
 One of World Vision's goals is to make sure people have food and clean water and a safe place to stay. Even before this round of fighting, an estimated 3.9 million individuals in South Sudan didn't have enough food to meet their nutritional needs, says Young. The situation in Juba will only make the number go up, he predicts. In such emergency situations, "high-energy biscuits" are a go-to food to distribute. They're fortified to provide calories and nutrition, says Young. 
 
 With the emphasis on such lifesaving activities, says Young, other kinds of help that World Vision offers — education for the children of displaced families, for example — may lapse. The International Medical Corps, based in Los Angeles, runs a hospital in the Protection of Civilian site; its maternity wing was shelled on Monday and two employees were injured. When the international airport reopened, the group sent home its 19 international employees because of safety concerns. McTyre, who is from Fairfax, Va., is one of the few who stayed to assist the South Sudanese staff. 
 
 There's an overwhelming amount of work to do. The hospital is seeing an influx of patients."People with severe trauma, a number of raped women, people that have gotten hurt running from the fighting," McTyre says. Plus, the usual arrival of people who have fallen ill. 
 
 "I'm trying to figure out how to get our staff some rest," says the 67-year-old McTyre. "They're working around the clock. They ran out of water two days ago. I don't know what they're doing about that. I finally got a water truck going over there — that should help a bit." 
 
 Asked what he needs, McTyre rattled off a list: dressings, fluids to hydrate patients, trauma kits with antibiotics, rape kits "with pills that would take care of infections and pills that would take care of unwanted pregnancies and a number of items that help to soothe and calm the patients down." 
 
 Under ordinary circumstances, one rape kit serves one person. "In conditions like this we have to split them up between four different women," McTyre says. 
 
 Despite the difficult times, neither he nor Young has lost hope. 
 
 Young is 28 and from San Diego. This is his first overseas assignment for World Vision. He has been in South Sudan for 10 months now, working on peace-building programs. He says: "I see hope in the eyes of the children, and that's the motivation for us to continue doing what we're doing. We see hope in the eyes of mothers and fathers for their children, whom they want to live a better life than they have lived." 
 
 But he also worries about the future: "If we do not provide the necessary support for these children to develop as a child should, then it truly will be a lost opportunity." 
 
 McTyre suspects that "we've seen the worst — there may be other flare-ups to come but not as bad as what we just weathered through." The South Sudanese people he knows "are fed up with the fighting," he says. He sees enthusiasm for reconciliation efforts. But healing will not happen overnight, he cautions: "Donors and donor countries need to open up their pockets because this is going to take some time to repair the wounds." 
 
 Asked if he is homesick, he replies, "Always." But the 40-year veteran of emergency response work is committed to staying: "I've never seen a place that needs as much [help] as South Sudan. I've also not seen a place that openly appreciates it as much as South Sudan." ||||| Shares 
 
 , NAIROBI, Kenya, Jul 12 – Few hours after South Sudan Ambassador accused Vice President Dr Riek Machar’s Spokesman James Gatdet of inciting the violence that claimed 272 lives in Juba, the spokesman defended himself against the allegations. 
 
 He told Capital FM News that he posted a message on Facebook warning that there was an intention to arrest or harm Machar but after the violence had already started. 
 
 “What the ambassador said was a lie. I do agree that I posted a message on Facebook but this message was posted after the fighting erupted at the palace,” he explained. 
 
 “I did not post it before the fighting erupted as the ambassador said. I posted it on the same day the violence erupted after I spoke to my people on the ground and told me that fighting took place that they had been attacked by the bodyguards of the president, that’s when I posted it.” 
 
 He explained that his Facebook post was inspired by concerns that the violence was targeting Machar. 
 
 “I suspected that the fighting erupted because there was an intention to harm the first Vice President. It was a pre-plan.” 
 
 Earlier Tuesday, South Sudan Ambassador Chol Ajongo alleged that Gatdet informed the army that Machar had been detained at the President’s palace, a message that spurred violence between Machar’s and President Salva Kiir’s army. 
 
 According to Ajongo, the information sent by Gatdet was false yet it led to the violence that has been condemned in and out of Africa. 
 
 READ: False Facebook post blamed for 272 deaths in S. Sudan ||||| (Juba, 12 July 2016): Following days of clashes in Juba that have left tens of thousands of people displaced, and hundreds killed or injured, the Humanitarian Coordinator for South Sudan has called for swift, safe and unhindered humanitarian access to all people in need. 
 
 “It is tragic that civilians, including those forced to flee their homes during this latest round of fighting, continue to suffer immensely at a time when there were high hopes of a return to stability in South Sudan,” said Mr. Eugene Owusu, Humanitarian Coordinator. “I call on all parties to restore and maintain calm throughout the country, protect civilians, and ensure civilian freedom of movement.” 
 
 Estimates indicate that more than 36,000 people were displaced at the height of the fighting and sought shelter in various locations throughout Juba, including the UNMISS base in Tongping, UN House in Jebel, WFP compound, ADRA compound, and several churches across the city. Most of the displaced were women and children. While some have begun to return home, others remain concerned for their safety. 
 
 “Humanitarian partners have activated our contingency plan for Juba and are mobilising assistance for people affected by these tragic events,” said Mr. Owusu, “We urgently call on all concerned to guarantee safe and unhindered access for humanitarian organisations to ensure that we are able to reach all people in need, including in locations hardest-hit by the fighting.” 
 
 During the clashes, some humanitarian facilities, compounds and warehouses - including a maternity ward in a Protection of Civilians site - were hit by shelling and gunfire. “I have stressed this before, and I must stress it again: destruction and damage to humanitarian facilities and violence against aid workers are unacceptable and must stop” said Mr. Owusu. 
 
 Prior to the eruption of fighting in Juba, the humanitarian situation in South Sudan was already dire, with unprecedented levels of food insecurity and one in five people displaced. The 2016 Humanitarian Response Plan for South Sudan is currently just 40 per cent funded - $508 million received out of $1.3 billion required – and additional resources are urgently required to respond to the growing needs. 
 
 “I urge major donors to step up and support humanitarian action and the large numbers of people in South Sudan who are in dire need of assistance,” said Mr. Owusu. 
 
 For further information, please contact: 
 
 Guiomar Pau Sole, Public Information Officer, UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs in South Sudan (pausole@un.org / +211920100411) OCHA press releases are available at www.unocha.org/south-sudan or www.reliefweb.int. ||||| Heavy fighting in the South Sudanese capital of Juba over the past few days has led to hundreds of deaths and the suggestion that the country is “back to war”. The question on everyone’s lips has been: who is behind the violence? 
 
 This question is all the more curious given that President Salva Kiir and First Vice-President Riek Machar have both seemed incapable of explaining what’s happening. In fact, the leaders of the main rival factions in the recent civil war were together for a meeting when one of the episodes of gunfire occurred. 
 
 Missing from the meeting, however, was the ruling Sudan People’s Liberation Army (SPLA) chief of general staff. The former governor of Northern Bahr El Ghazal state, Paul Malong, is a figure who many see as the true power behind the Salva Kiir’s presidential throne. 
 
 The power behind the throne 
 
 I have written about Malong and Kiir’s relationship before. And I have come to the unsurprising conclusion, as have many South Sudanese, that Malong is the one who holds the real power. 
 
 Malong established his authority over Northern Bahr El Ghazal and the SPLA during the civil war that spanned from 1983 to 2005. In this period, Malong dominated the local war economy and used its proceeds to cement strategic allegiances. He did this through the practice of large-scale polygamy and by godfathering his supporters’ marriages, a practice shared by other Nuer commanders in Unity state, for example. 
 
 One of Malong’s supporters was Salva Kiir. Malong provided financial support after Kiir fell out with then SPLA leader John Garang in 2004. One illustration of Malong’s influence is that he recently offered to pay for the bride wealth for Kiir’s new wife. That role is traditionally taken up by a groom’s father and his close and extended kin. In 2005, after Garang’s death, Kiir took over as vice-president of Sudan. And in 2008, Malong was appointed state governor of his home area of Northern Bahr El Ghazal. 
 
 In the following few years, as episodes of fighting with Sudanese forces continued, Malong managed to convince Kiir of the need to create a militia that would be loyal to them both. He began recruiting and training men from Kiir’s home state of Warrap, but the majority were from Northern Bahr El Ghazal. 
 
 Malong was trying to position himself as the first leader from Northern Bahr El Ghazal with national stature. The militia he led came to be known as Mathiang Anyoor, meaning “brown caterpillar” in Dinka. But it was also known as Dot ku Beny or Gel-Beny or “rescue the president”. 
 
 Lethal power and lame ducks 
 
 In December 2013, war broke out in now-independent South Sudan. It began as a political battle between President Kiir, an ethnic Dinka, and Vice-President Machar, an ethnic Nuer. Much of the violence soon became codified along these ethnic lines despite the fact that military alliances did not always follow strict lines. 
 
 As the fighting progressed, Malong – with the help of the Mathiang Anyoor – organised the massacre of thousands of ethnic Nuer in Juba. Soon after, he was promoted to chief of general staff of the SPLA and he came to dominate the entire SPLA system of corruption. The proceeds were invested strategically to sustain military allegiances, both within and outside the SPLA. 
 
 Since then, Malong has continued to recruit young men in what has become known as the “new” Mathiang Anyoor. And both “new” and “old” Mathiang Anyoor have been used to reinforce the SPLA in Upper Nile, Unity and Jonglei states. But Malong’s influence goes even further. The Dinka commando units that have wrought havoc on Western and Central Equatoria states since October 2015 – despite the signing of a peace agreement between Kiir and Machar in August 2015 – also reportedly answer to Malong. 
 
 It is understood that the power he commands has led to rifts with Minister of Defence Kuol Manyang. In contrast to Malong, the influence of South Sudan’s official main leaders appears to be weak. The recent fighting in Juba and Kiir’s apparent ignorance of what was happening reveals his lack of control over the SPLA. And it is increasingly clear that the president has lost a great deal of credibility and power amidst rumours of alcoholism and health issues. 
 
 If Kiir is a lame duck, the same might be said – albeit to a lesser extent – of Riek Machar. The first vice-president never seemed to control his troops and never had as much military gravitas as his peers in the so-called SPLM-In-Opposition (IO). Furthermore, he has made the grave mistake of dismissing IO’s most experienced generals in the past year. 
 
 International powers to blame, too 
 
 With fighting returning to South Sudan despite an internationally brokered peace agreement less than a year ago, the international community must also take some responsibility: 
 
 Juba’s demilitarisation took the form of a 25km radius around the city. Why was the SPLA allowed to encircle the capital while blocking possible escape routes for IO? 
 
 And why was a stronger stance not taken regarding the fact that SPLA soldiers had clearly removed their uniforms but remained inside Juba? 
 
 Why was the national security body allowed to expand exponentially over the past few months without action? 
 
 If anything, the recent violence in Juba has shown how easy it is for the SPLA to breach security arrangements. The heavy fighting on July 10 and 11 suggest that the situation might become even worse than when civil war began in December 2013. Fighting engulfed different parts of the city. Rocket-propelled grenades were fired. Civilian houses were shelled. Government helicopter gunships circled Juba’s skies. And United Nations (UN) premises were hit. 
 
 The Juba bridge was also closed off and Machar’s troops were unlikely to back down since they knew there was no way out, especially with Malong’s commando units able to attack them easily from their bases in Central Equatoria. Machar’s troops and SPLA forces were fighting right outside UN premises and reports emerged that Nuer generals, who had remained allied to the SPLA but were now being targeted by SPLA soldiers, were asking for shelter inside the UN compound. 
 
 Real threat for unarmed civilians 
 
 Reports also emerged that both sides had started inflicting reprisals on civilians. On the evening of July 11, Kiir and Machar declared a ceasefire. The question throughout the fighting – still valid should the war in Juba resume – has been: who will protect the civilians? 
 
 Many believe that Malong is the one behind the recent events and point to the fact that on July 8, SPLA troops around J1, the presidential palace, were reinforced from both the area surrounding Juba and from Luri, a cattle camp where Mathiang Anyoor recruits stayed before the 2013 Juba massacre. 
 
 Malong did make a statement on July 9 saying the situation in Juba was under control. But this was done through an intermediary and it was not clear where the man himself was. At any rate, it is difficult to imagine the SPLA could have decimated Machar’s bodyguards on July 8 without the top orders coming from its chief of general staff. 
 
 There are rumours that Malong intended to wreak havoc and maybe even take control of Juba. He may also split from Kiir, but either way he would retain control over his Dinka militias, who are spread all over the Equatorias, as well as over some of the Bul Nuer fighters, who are based in Unity state and have close ties with Khartoum. 
 
 Malong will also continue cultivating his popularity with Dinka communities who do not want to relinquish their desire for their own state, especially after Kiir opened a Pandora’s box with his unilateral decree in October 2015 to replace South Sudan’s ten states with 28. 
 
 Depending on whether or not the ceasefire holds, and on who is officially blamed for the recent fighting, Malong may open up a new front, most likely from Northern Bahr El Ghazal. If such a war were to begin, Kiir might break with Malong to save himself and be forced to mend fences with Machar’s IO as well as other victimised ethnic groups. 
 
 Much remains uncertain. But the future of South Sudan looks grim – and not just in Juba. Other state capitals have seen troop movements and even some fighting. 
 
 Just five years after independence, and less than one year after a peace agreement was signed, a new phase of South Sudan’s civil war seems to have begun. 
 
 This article first appeared in African Arguments and has been slightly modified since. ||||| A "false" Facebook post on South Sudan's First Vice President Riek Machar account caused the death of 272 people following renewed fighting among rival forces. 
 
 The country's embassy in Nairobi claimed James Gatdet, an official in the joint administration allegedly told Machar's army - through an update on the account - that he had been detained by President Salva Kiir forces at the palace. 
 
 Ambassador Chol Ajongo said it is this information that led the army to respond, causing the fighting in the capital Juba which entered its fifth day on Tuesday. 
 
 "On July 8, 2016, the SPLA-IO forces Spokesman James Gatdet, Press Secretary of Dr Riek Machar created and spread rumours that their leader Dr Riek Machar Teny was under arrest," Ajongo said at a press briefing. 
 
 "This was false, because Machar was attending a security briefing meeting with President Kiir, Vice President James Wani and other senior government officials at the J1 (presidential palace)," he said. 
 
 "Sudan's People Liberation Army In Opposition forces proceeded to attack the government forces at J1 at 4.15 and killed many innocent soldiers," he said. 
 
 Ajongo said that after the post was published on Friday, a member of Machar’s troops forced his way into the palace. 
 
 But he was denied access leading to a confrontation between the officer and security at the gate, the tiff causing injury of a security officer. 
 
 "One of the officers came into the palace and wanted to force his way through the doors to where the meeting was taking place. He was denied access to the building. He then shot the officer and the fighting broke out," the envoy claimed. 
 
 The Ambassador said the “falsehood” was spread when Machar was attending a security meeting with Kiir and other top government officials. 
 
 Ajongo, who was posted to Kenya in June, said: "President Kiir protected Dr Machar’s life until 11.40pm when he personally arranged for armed security escort to take him back safely to his residence in Jebel Kujor area." 
 
 He accused Machar-allied forces of pursuing conflict despite the agreement signed in August 2015 that drafted a power sharing agreement. 
 
 "Anti-peace elements within the SPLA-IO have totally disregarded peace and decided a return to war," he said. 
 
 He said the SPLA-IO were roaming the streets at night while heavily armed and without clear purpose, and refused to stop at check-points. He also said they shot at vehicles including one of the United States of America Embassy in Juba. 
 
 The Ambassador said Juba International Airport reopened on Tuesday and further dismissed calls by the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (Igad) to send peacekeeping forces to the nation. 
 
 "They (Igad) should tell whether the troops will be imposed on us or an invasion on our sovereign country," he said. 
 
 On Monday, ministers from the regional bloc held a special summit in Nairobi after which senior official Tedros Adhanom urged all parties to engage in dialogue instead of violence. 
 
 He also fronted the possibility of sending Africa Union peacekeeping teams to the clash-torn country, which did not get the chance to celebrate its fifth independence on Saturday. 
 
 The renewed fighting started on Friday near State House when former rebel leader Machar Kiir were having a meeting. 
 
 The fighting has since led to deaths of 272 people, including civilians and displaced thousands of others. 
 
 Read: 15 Kenyan truck drivers killed in South Sudan violence - union 
 
 The Kakuma refugee camp is expected to receive more refugees as Kenya opens its border with South Sudan. 
 
 "There are no new arrivals so far. But we are closely monitoring the situation with the Kenya Directorate of Refugee Affairs," said UNHCR-Kenya spokesman Duke Mwancha. 
 
 UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon has called for an arms embargo against South Sudan and appealed to the UN Security Council to target sanctions against those involved in the fighting. 
 
 Thousands have been displaced by the standoff in Juba and are sheltering at two UN bases, a World Food Programme compound and other areas. ||||| Rival factions took up arms again in South Sudan's capital of Juba on Monday in the fifth day of fighting between troops loyal to President Salva Kiir and soldiers backing Vice-President Riek Machar. Current confrontations started on Thursday night, raising fears of another full-blown conflict after a two-year civil war. Peter Schumann, former director of the United Nations mission to Sudan, told DW: "My understanding, from what I see and what I hear from Juba is that the probability of it [the situation] escalating into a full-scale war is much higher than it stabilizing." Schumann is worried that the situation is very similar to the one that led to a civil war in December 2013. 
 
 There are conflicting reports on the number of dead, but they are estimated to be in the hundreds. The United Nations have called for an immediate end of the battles and the fulfilling of the peace agreement signed by the two leaders in August of last year. This came about after intense pressure from the international community and ended the two-year civil war. The UN has also warned that attacks on civilians, U.N. personnel and U.N. premises, all of which happened in the last couple of days, might amount to war crimes that would need to be investigated. 
 
 Ahmed Soliman, research associate at the British think tank Chatham House, says the one positive thing in the middle of this renewed violence "was its very rapid condemnation not only by the leaders themselves, but also by the UN Security Council, the regional body IGAD (Intergovernmental Authority on Development) and the African Union, as well as the pleading for peace by the South Sudan Council of Churches." Soliman hopes that this swift reaction may prevent the violence from spreading. 
 
 South Sudan President Salva Kiir (right) and Vice President Riek Machar 
 
 A historic rivalry 
 
 Both Kiir and Machar maintain that they do not know how and why the clashes started. This has raised concerns that they may not be in full control of their forces, namely the Sudan People's Liberation Army in the Government (SPLA-IG) led by the president, and his opponent's Sudan People's Liberation Army in Opposition (SPLA-IO). The SPLA used to be the united armed wing of the rebel movement SPLM (Sudan People's Liberation Movement), formed in 1983 to fight for independence. Largely Christian South Sudan won its independence from Sudan, a majority Muslim country, in 2011 after two decades of fighting. Then the SPLA fell into factions along ethnic lines. 
 
 Kiir and Machar have long been rivals for power. The former vice-president accused Kiir of rigging the country's first elections, and still stands by this accusation. According to DW correspondent James Shimanyula, author of several books on South Sudan, the two leaders' relationship was distorted by deep mistrust from the start: "Salva Kiir is an ethnic Dinka, the largest ethnic group in South Sudan. And Machar comes from the Nuer tribe. Both sides have their own soldiers inside the army." 
 
 A devastating civil war 
 
 It was in the army that trouble began. Riek Machar pushed for the promotion of Nuer soldiers to higher ranks. This led Kiir to believe that his rival was planning a coup. In July of 2013 he fired his vice-president and six months later he ordered the President's Guard to be disarmed. An alleged new order to re-arm only the Dinka guards led to clashes among the soldiers. Kiir immediately accused Machar of staging a coup. Fearing for his life, Machar fled the capital. 
 
 The ensuing civil war cost tens of thousands of lives and an estimated two million people had to flee their homes. It also paralyzed oil production and kept investors away, further exacerbating the county's economic problems. Because of these problems, Independence Day celebrations were cancelled this year."Oil accounts for 98% of South Sudan's economy. Almost three quarters of the government's expenditure comes from oil", says expert Shimanyula. To complicate matters, oil reserves are located mainly in the states of Unity and Upper Nile, north of Juba. Riek Machar is from Upper Nile, Shimanyula says. If he takes up arms again "and then seals up Unity State and the Upper Nile", he might split the country into two. 
 
 Renewed clashes have forced thousands to flee their homes 
 
 A costly failure to implement the peace agreement 
 
 Riek Machar returned to Juba in April. A new transitional government of national unity was established. But the two leaders failed to work out a way to get the peace process going. Experts say the failure to implement swiftly key elements of the August agreement, such as the re-integration and demobilization of combatants, have allowed tension to fester. On Monday, claims that presidential troops had attacked Riek Machar added to the tensions. South Sudan's ambassador to Germany Sitona Abdalla Osman told DW that this did not happen: "The first vice-president was with the president when this incident erupted. After that he was given a guard to protect him." 
 
 Ambassador Osman is adamant that both leaders are trying to keep the peace process going and points out that Kiir called for calm and formed a commission to investigate the violence. That raises the specter of a head of State who is not in charge anymore and the question who is. As is usually the case in Juba, says expert James Shimanyula, the capital is rife with rumors about a coup attempt that would aim at sidelining both Kiir and Machar. 
 
 Fresh leadership needed? 
 
 But Chatham House's Ahmed Soliman points out that the presence of lots of soldiers in Juba who have only recently been fighting each other and have yet to go through a planned process of reconciliation was conducive to a flaring up of violence: "It would have only taken a match to ignite something and that seems to have been what's happened here. Hopefully the fighting can be curtailed and leadership can exercise some kind of command and control." 
 
 Former UN coordinator Peter Schumann is less hopeful. He believes that neither Kiir nor Machar have demonstrated any ability to bring stability back to the country: "Both of them have to leave the arena. We need a fresh leadership; we need a completely new setup in South Sudan." ||||| Image copyright German Foreign Office Image caption Foreigners airlifted from South Sudan 
 
 Several countries are evacuating their citizens from South Sudan following days of fighting that saw hundreds of people killed. 
 
 Germany, the UK, Italy, Japan, India and Uganda have already started taking their citizens out of the country. 
 
 A ceasefire between forces loyal to President Salva Kiir and Vice-President Riek Machar is holding for a second day in the capital, Juba. 
 
 Mr Machar and his troops have also left Juba "to avoid further confrontation". 
 
 Africa Live: More on this and other African stories 
 
 'We want peace - and ice cream' 
 
 Five obstacles to peace 
 
 The evacuations are being carried out by military and chartered planes, as commercial flights have not yet resumed. 
 
 However, Kenyan Foreign Minister Amina Mohammed has told the BBC that Kenyan nationals would not be evacuated, as the ceasefire in South Sudan was holding. 
 
 The US embassy in Juba said it was organising flights to evacuate non-essential staff and all US citizens wishing to leave. 
 
 President Barack Obama later announced 47 troops were being sent to protect the US embassy and its staff. 
 
 He added that 130 more personnel were being sent to Djibouti to stand ready for deployment if necessary. 
 
 Germany's foreign ministry said its air force was evacuating other European nationals, as well as its own citizens. 
 
 During the fighting, Mr Machar's base in Juba was overrun. 
 
 Mr Machar's spokesman James Gatdet Dak told the BBC that the vice-president was now near the capital but refused to be more specific. 
 
 He called for an international buffer force to be deployed to avoid "further confrontation" and ensure that the ceasefire holds. 
 
 How did we get here? 
 
 Image copyright AFP Image caption Gunfire erupted shortly after Mr Machar (L) and Mr Kiir (R) met on Friday 
 
 July 2011 - South Sudan becomes an independent country after more than 20 years of guerrilla warfare, which claimed the lives of at least 1.5 million people and displaced more than four million. 
 
 December 2013 - Civil war breaks out after President Salva Kiir sacks the cabinet and accuses Vice-President Riek Machar of planning a coup. The war is fought broadly between the country's biggest ethnic groups - the Dinka, led by Mr Kiir, and the Nuer, under Mr Machar. 
 
 More than 2.2 million people are displaced by the fighting. Famine puts the lives of thousands at risk. Tens of thousands of people are reported killed, and Mr Machar flees the country. 
 
 August 2015 - President Kiir signs a peace deal with rebels after a threat of sanctions from the UN. 
 
 April 2016 - Mr Machar returns to South Sudan to take up his job as first vice-president in a new unity government led by President Kiir.
– It's a mere five years old, but South Sudan is on the brink of civil war. What's more, the situation is so dire that the US just brought in 40 additional troops to protect the US Embassy in Juba. Some coverage to explain what's happening: The fight is between forces backing President Salva Kiir and those backing Vice President Riek Machar, and the DW has a primer on their long rivalry for power, one that got violent soon after the country's independence from Sudan in 2011. Read this and understand why it's SPLA-IG vs. SPLA-IO. Adding to this web: A post at the Conversation suggests that a third man, Paul Malong, might hold the real power in the country. Kenya's ambassador says the latest fighting was set off by a bogus Facebook post by Machar's spokesman saying Machar had been arrested, even though the VP actually was in a security meeting with the president. The Star of Kenya explains. The spokesman, however, says he made the post after violence had started, fearing that a plot to detain or harm Machar was underway. The US has ordered non-essential employees to evacuate, and several other countries were doing the same. The BBC has details. Few details were released on the new US troops, but they're from the US Africa Command's Crisis Response Force, reports the Marine Corps Times. They'll protect employees staying and help those leaving do so safely. In addition to reports of more than 200 people killed, the renewed fighting has displaced about 36,000 people, says the UN. Worse, even before this, "the humanitarian situation in South Sudan was already dire." Read the plea for help from a UN humanitarian official here. Aid workers in the nation face huge problems, but a 28-year-old from San Diego hasn't lost hope. See NPR.