“Two days of street battles between rival factions in South Sudan‘s army left parts of the capital in ruins and prompted fears of a bloodbath in the world’s youngest country.

UN officials in New York said they had received reports from local sources indicating that between 400 and 500 people had been killed and up to 800 wounded. More than 16,000 people were seeking refuge at UN facilities. What began on Sunday night as an alleged coup attempt now threatens to widen deep ethnic divisions in a country awash with weapons and still recovering from a devastating war that led to its secession from the north in 2011.”

Seth Dixon‘s insight:

Earlier in the semester we discussed how difficult it is to establish a new country in a region with political and economic instabilty.  This is only further complicated by the presence of factional rivalries.  It’s a tragedy that these problems are being played out.  

Tags: South Sudan, political, Africa, states.

See on www.theguardian.com