By Isolde Doubell
10/04/2025
South Sudan, the youngest nation in the world – since 2011 – has been at war for more years than its people would like to remember. Its independence from Sudan came after decades of war. Two years after independence, a bloody civil war broke out, lasting five years, during which more than 400,000 people were killed and more than 2 million were displaced.
The civil war was a result of political and ethnic disputes between forces of President Salva Kiir, a Dinka – the largest ethnic group – and First Vice President Riek Machar, a Nuer. In 2018, a peace agreement was signed between the two leaders, and a government of unity was established. This administration, however, did not implement key provisions of the peace pact, such as holding national elections and unifying their two forces into one army. In February, Kiir dismissed two other vice-presidents and promoted his adviser, Benjamin Bol Mel, who is now seen as his preferred successor.
The Ugandan army has also been brought in to strengthen the government in its conflict against the White Army, an ethnic militia largely comprising Nuer youths. Machar’s forces were allied with the White Army during the civil war, but he denies any current links. After a United Nations helicopter on a rescue mission was shot down in fierce fighting, and an army general and over 20 soldiers were killed by the White Army, government forces retaliated, and the fighting escalated. Kiir has accused Machar of stirring rebellion and has placed him under house arrest in the capital, Juba. His party said this move effectively nullified the 2018 peace deal, but the government maintains the deal still stands.
Reuters quotes Justin Lynch, Managing Director of Conflict Insights Group, as saying that the pretence of Riek Machar’s control over the White Army is a useful distraction for Juba’s actual political crisis – namely, the collapsing oil revenues and Kiir’s plan to install Bol Mel as his successor.
The international community has been sending mediators to try to stabilise the situation and initiate dialogue between the parties, including Kenyan President William Ruto, former Kenyan Prime Minister Raila Odinga, and the African Union’s Council of the Wise. This is a five-person panel of respected African personalities who have been recognised for their contributions to peace, security and development on the continent. The panel, which serves for three years, can be deployed by the AU to de-escalate potential conflicts and mediate ongoing ones.
The People and Church of South Sudan
The beleaguered people of South Sudan have had enough of war. South Sudan is among the poorest and least-developed countries in the world. Almost four-fifths of its inhabitants depend on farming and animal husbandry for their livelihoods. The civil war of 2013 severely disrupted the economy of South Sudan. Many people were displaced during the years of war. According to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, there are 506,198 refugees and asylum seekers as of November 2024, with a further 150,000 new arrivals projected in 2025. One of the friends of INcontext has been a refugee three times since 1993.
Of the 11 million people of South Sudan, almost 60.5% are Christian (11% evangelical), followed by traditional faiths (33%) and Islam at 6%. South Sudan’s war for independence was also a religious war (Sudan is a Muslim country). During this time, the South Sudanese Council of Churches (SSCC) was formed, which played a vital role in the peace deal of 2005. Unfortunately, during the ensuing civil war, the hope of Christ was not displayed, even though President Kiir is a Catholic and Riek Machar is Presbyterian. One Catholic priest said, “The blood of the tribe has become thicker than the blood of Christ.” A friend of INcontext explains it in this way:
“The fear of God was not in us as South Sudanese, and we spoiled the precious peace that God had given us in 2011. We went back to tribal and power struggles, and self-interest of individuals drove the conflict.”
In April 2019, Pope Francis hosted a spiritual retreat in the Vatican with South Sudanese leaders, including President Salva Kiir and Riek Machar, urging them to seek peace and unity – a move that included the unprecedented gesture of him kneeling to kiss their feet. The SSCC wrote a letter to President Kiir on 6 March this year, stating that the peace deal of 2018 “remains a gift of hope to our nation. It is a promise to our people – a promise to end their suffering and to lay the foundation for a South Sudan where justice, peace and prosperity prevail.” The letter also reminded him that he said during the retreat to the Vatican, “I will not take the people of South Sudan back to war.” They encouraged the role players to rise above their differences and to place the well-being of the people above political interests.
However, the friend of INcontext says: “We experience that the Church is undermined and is not recognised as a valid role player.” Alongside this, there is also the belief that the Church is not speaking out publicly for fear of becoming a target.
Please join us in prayer:
- For true peace for South Sudan, which can only come through Jesus, the Prince of Peace Himself. He is the one who can change hearts and minds.
- For the Church to be a source of hope and stability.
- For Christians worldwide to intercede with the Church in South Sudan for a change in the hearts and minds of their leaders, so that war can be averted.
