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South Sudan, horrific ethnic conflict, what, if anything, should we do?

BobStackFan4Life

BobStackFan4Life

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A week ago, Simon K, a 20-year-old student living in the capital of South Sudan, was arrested by men in military uniforms. He was asked a question that has taken on deadly importance in the world's newest country in the past seven days: incholdi – "What is your name?" in Dinka, the language of the country's president and its largest ethnic group.

Those who, like Simon, were unable to answer, risked being identified as Nuer, the ethnic group of the former vice-president now leading the armed opposition and facing the brunt of what insiders are describing as the world's newest civil war.

Simon K was taken to a police station in the Gudele market district of Juba, where he was marched past several dead bodies and locked in a room with other young men, all Nuer. "We counted ourselves and found we were 252," he told the Guardian. "Then they put guns in through the windows and started to shoot us."

The massacre continued for two days with soldiers returning at intervals to shoot again if they saw any sign of life. Simon was one of 12 men to survive the assault by covering themselves in the bodies of the dead and dying.
http://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/dec/23/south-sudan-state-that-fell-apart-in-a-week
The media and government are reluctant to admit that this conflict is tribal, but from all the reports I've been receiving it seems clear the fighting and killing is very much along tribal lines. Staff told us that presidential guards were entering people's homes; if they found someone who was Nuer (the second largest ethnic group, to which the former vice-president, Riek Machar, belongs), they were shot. Women and children were not spared.
http://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/dec/23/south-sudan-conflict-aid-worker-juba
 
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Hannah Rounding was forced to leave her charity working with 40 street girls when the fighting in Juba became too severe. Here she reflects on her experiences, and explains why she will be back with her girls as soon as she is able
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Bor, the state capital of Jonglei has been one the worst affected areas. My friend Daniel, a teacher, lives there. It took me a long time to get hold of him as the government had cut many of the phone networks, but when I finally did he told me he was hiding in scrubland by the roadside, 10km from town. I asked him how many people were with him, he told me 'thousands, half the town'. The other half had sought refuge in the UNMISS (UN Mission in South Sudan) compound, which we later learnt was attacked by rebels.

Daniel told me he saw his neighbours, three young men, killed that morning: one shot in the head, one in the chest and another slit at the throat. He told me that Nuer soldiers were killing the Dinka soldiers and civilians – the opposite of what was happening in Juba. He told me a mother and her children tried to swim across the Nile to safety. Her children drowned.
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http://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/dec/23/south-sudan-conflict-aid-worker-juba
Many of the Nuer crowded into the main UN mission base in Juba said they were sure the peacekeepers would protect them despite the evacuation over the weekend of all non-critical UN staff.

Not everyone feels safe, though. Wearing a dusty pinstriped suit jacket and apologising for not having showered in six days, 51-year-old Peter Bey was unsure. He has watched in recent days as one evacuation flight after another has taken foreign nationals to safety from the airport on the other side of the fence. "We see from history that the UN has left people behind before in Rwanda," he said. "They put their own people on helicopters and left the people who died."
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http://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/dec/23/south-sudan-state-that-fell-apart-in-a-week
 
working on impeaching the president, tearing down intelligence programs, and thwarting health care reform. too busy. call back later.
 
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We have sent about 100 Marines to help with evacuations.
 
RJKarl said:
We have sent about 100 Marines to help with evacuations.
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Yeah, I saw that. Seems sensible. And I think most Americans have now been evacuated. The UN is probably going to send in more troops but I doubt it'll be enough to get control of the situation. Other than putting pressure on the leaders, I'm not sure what the US government can or should do. Tough to sit back and watch an insane civil war unfold.
 
African Union, this is one of the things you were created for. Go stop this.
 
just based on a quick skim:

the U.S. should do nothing unilaterally. The UN should do something, but the bulk of contributions must be from member nations.
 
dmcheatw said:
just based on a quick skim:

the U.S. should do nothing unilaterally. The UN should do something, but the bulk of contributions must be from member nations.
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Yep. Rinse, repeat for any number of international conflicts.
 
TownieDeac said:
As callous as this comment is, South Sudan was a good idea not ready to be executed. The situation there is so fucked.
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Having spent time on the border between S.Sudan and the Democratic Republic of the Congo (another recently delineated country), the situation is FUBAR.
 
Could you go into more detail?
 
ONW said:
Having spent time on the border between S.Sudan and the Democratic Republic of the Congo (another recently delineated country), the situation is FUBAR.
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You spent time in the Democratic Republic of Congo? What a nightmare. What were you doing there?
 
ONW said:
No I can't. The Somalies and Chicago would be offended by the lack of humanity.
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I figure there's a joke involved here but I'm not getting it. Anyway, you really can't comment on why you were there? Just one question, were you armed and are you a good shot?
 
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