The first famine in any country in six years has been declared in South Sudan, affecting about 100,000 people. As the summer lean season nears and with fighting expected to continue in the country's civil war, the lack of food could soon affect an increasing portion of the country's population. Complicating matters, in early February, the U.N. mission in the country announced the evacuation of aid workers in the northern parts of the country, where fighting has centered on control of oil resources.
The official declaration of famine, announced Feb. 20 by the government in Juba and three U.N. agencies, centers on a relatively small geographic area: Unity state in the north-central portion of South Sudan. But with 4.9 million of the country's citizens classified as "food insecure," meaning they are unsure where their next meal is coming from, famine is expected to spread. The civil war spurred economic collapse in the country, which gained its independence from Sudan in 2011, and intensified food shortages.
The declaration of famine comes as the government of President Salva Kiir Mayardit is being accused of directing a campaign of ethnic cleansing. On Feb. 9, a South Sudanese army general resigned over the role of the military in perpetrating ethnic violence. According to the general, the military has deployed ethnic Dinka soldiers to non-Dinka areas to support land occupation. Since then, at least three other high-ranking army and government officials have resigned, citing corruption and ethnic bias.
The conflict between Kiir's government and the rebel Sudan People's Liberation Movement-in-Opposition (SPLM-IO) shows little sign of abating. SPLM-IO, formerly led by former Vice President Riek Machar, lost its position in Juba as a part of a shaky peace deal struck in 2015 but has continued fighting since. In addition, new militia groups have formed, reportedly consisting mostly of opportunistic gangs taking advantage of the breakdown in security and of the increases in food shortages and ethnic tensions. The breeding of new militia groups with little to no ties to the Kiir government or to SPLM-IO further complicates the security situation and increases the odds of a more widespread famine.
