Description: Armed confrontations between the South Sudanese military and the armed wing of the White Army militia escalated in the midst of a growing political crisis in the country. The confrontation saw the military recapture the key town of Nasir with conflicting reports coming from both sides regarding the advance of the military and the withdrawal of the rebel forces. Armed clashes began to intensify with the imprisonment of South Sudan’s Vice – President Riek Machar, under alleged accusations of plotting to overthrow the incumbent Salva Kiir. Machar’s party SPLM – IO has since splintered into two separate organizations, with the armed wing of the party remaining loyal to Machar. Mediators from Burundi, Uganda and Kenya have conducted visits to South Sudan in an attempt to deescalate the situation and avoid a recurrence of the civil war in the country which lasted for 7 years and left thousands of people dead.
Impact: With armed confrontations undertaking new repeated waves of violence, South Sudan’s political crisis is transforming to a renewed civil war. Vice – President Machar remains in custody as peace efforts from the African Union of countries falters under armed confrontation pressure. The SPLM – IO’s splintering into separate organizations poses elevated risk of upsurge in violence as the country once again becomes the regional playing ground for the imposition of foreign interests. The country finds itself on the brink of a repeated civil war as brewing crises in Sudan and the Democratic Republic of Congo continuously escalate. The potential intensification of armed confrontation could enlarge the security and humanitarian crisis in the central African region as governments, armed militias and militant offshoots fall under the pressure of forwarding foreign regional and global interests.