The Heat examines the crisis in South Sudan

The Heat

South SUDAN-UNICEF-UNREST-CHILD-SOLDIERSYoung boys, children soldiers sit on February 10, 2015 with their rifles at a ceremony of the child soldiers disarmament, demobilisation and reintegration in Pibor oversawn by UNICEF and partners. AFP PHOTO/Charles LOMODONG

The two warring sides in the South Sudan conflict have agreed to cease hostilities and reestablish peace in their war-torn nation. It’s the eighth such agreement in a little more than a year. Will it be any different this time around?

It’s been more than a year since the conflict in South Sudan began. Efforts at peace talks have failed to end the civil war, which has ravaged the world’s newest country and killed more than 10,000 people. While a new ceasefire agreement, and new talks, are bringing some a glimmer of hope.

CCTV’s Girum Chala reports that hope is tempered by the reality of past failures.

Peter Ajak is one of the so-called Lost Boys of Sudan, the estimated 20,000 young boys separated from their families in the late 1980’s during the country’s civil war. He is now the founder and director of the Center for Strategic Analyses and Research, an independent policy think-tank based in Juba, South Sudan. He joined us from Nairobi.

The United Nations says more than six million people, that’s more than half of South Sudan’s population, need humanitarian assistance. Accusations of rape and horrific human rights abuses have plagued South Sudan.
We discussed the humanitarian aspect of the conflict with a panel of experts.

  • Ayo Johnson is an African Affairs specialist. He joined us from London.
  • Nada Mustafa Ali is a fellow at the University of Massachusetts. She has taught in Sudan and joined us Boston.