South Sudan independence: Country gears up for 3rd anniversary

World Today

South Sudan independence: Country gears up for 3rd anniversary

Since mid-December forces loyal to Souths Sudan President Salva Kiir have been fighting rebel troops backing former vice-president Riek Machar. Robert Nagila from CCTV reports.

An estimated 4 million people, almost a third of the population, face starvation. More than a million Southern Sudanese are displaced by the seven month conflict. At a ceremony in Juba on Tuesday, South Sudan’s Vice President dismissed talk of South Sudan as a failed state.

South Sudan independence: Country gears up for 3rd anniversary

Since mid-December forces loyal to Souths Sudan President Salva Kiir have been fighting rebel troops backing former vice-president Riek Machar. Robert Nagila from CCTV reports.

James Wani Igga, Vice President of South Sudan says: “Without unity, we are finished. Everything else is death. And we become a chaotic country. People say we are a failed nation, I want to say we are not a failed nation”

African Union led talks in the Ethiopian capital have suffered numerous setbacks despite several ceasefire agreements. The government says it is doing all it can to resolve the crisis On the streets, billboards line the roads proclaiming One People, One Nation. This is a divided nation, in a conflict based on ethnicity, and while many here are proud of the freedom achieved 3 years ago. They are also realistic of the conflict tearing their society apart.

As the country celebrates its third birthday Wednesday, there is a lot of soul searching to be done. Even so, there may be hope for future if the young nation can overcome its differences.