Nearly five million people in South Sudan are dependent on overseas food aid to survive, according to the UN. Civil war, ethnic cleansing, corruption and plunging oil prices have devastated the world's youngest country.
Image: DW/L. Wagenknecht
Advertisement
The rate of hunger in South Sudan is now at its highest level since the country descended into civil war at the end of 2013, the UN and South Sudanese government warned on Wednesday.
"The risk of famine cannot be ruled out," said Agriculture Minster Lam Akol told journalists in the capital, Juba.
UN aid agencies issued a joint statement, saying, "The deteriorating situation coincides with an unusually long and harsh annual lean season, when families have depleted their food stocks and new harvests are not expected until August. The level of food insecurity this year is unprecedented."
Clashes continue to flare in South Sudan, despite a peace deal reached in August last year. The conflict pitted President Salva Kiir against his former deputy, Riek Machar. Machar returned to the country in April as vice president, but widespread violence persists, with various militias uncontrolled by either Machar or President Salva Kiir.
"The level of food insecurity this year is unprecedented," the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), UN children's agency UNICEF and the World Food Program (WFP) said in a joint statement.
"Up to 4.8 million people in South Sudan - well over one-third of the population - will be facing severe food shortages over the coming months," the statement added, "and the risk of a hunger catastrophe continues."
Famine looms
Conditions in some parts of the country fall into the most severe category, "catastrophe" or "phase five." Famine is declared when devastating conditions apply to 20 percent of the population - a technical threshold.
More than 100,000 children have been treated for severe malnutrition this year, a 40 percent increase over last year, and a 150 percent increase since 2014, according to the UNICEF chief in South Sudan, Mahimbo Mdoe.
"The levels of malnutrition among children continue to be truly alarming," Mdoe said.
Year-on-year inflation stood at 295 percent in May.
The war has killed tens of thousands and forced two million to flee their homes.
All sides have been accused of carrying out ethnic massacres, recruiting and killing children and carrying out widespread rape.
The crisis situation in the country has prompted the government to cancel plans to celebrate the country's 5-year anniversary on July 9.
bik/jr (AFP, Reuters)
60 years of war and peace in South Sudan: A photo timeline
South Sudan's rebel leader and vice president-designate, Riek Machar, is finally back in Juba. Many hope that his arrival will bring the country a step closer towards realizing the August 2015 peace agreement.
Image: AFP/Getty Images
South Sudan: Fought over since colonial era
For decades, what is now the Republic of South Sudan was officially part of the Republic of Sudan. The first secession war dates back to 1955, even before British colonialists handed over duties to the new government in Khartoum, with Christian South Sudanese fighting for more independence from the Arab north.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/Pendl
Lines get blurred
From 1972 to 1983, South Sudan enjoyed relative peace and autonomy before falling back into civil war. The Sudan People's Liberation Movement and Army (SPLM/A) took up the fight, led by John Garang. The group later splintered, with Salva Kiir and Riek Machar holding leading positions in different factions.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/Rosenthal
Free at last
In a January 2011 referendum, the South Sudanese people voted for independence. Salva Kiir and Riek Machar were named president and vice president respectively. The new state was based largely on a peace deal struck in 2005 under the auspices of Garang, who died in a helicopter crash weeks after the deal.
Image: AP
Taking up arms again
The alliance between the enemies-turned-colleagues didn't last long. In July 2013, two years after independence, Kiir dismissed Riek Machar and all other cabinet members. In December, he donned his military uniform for effect when addressing the media, accusing Machar and his allies of attempting a coup. It was the beginning of a civil war that continues to this day.
Image: Reuters
A deadly conflict
At least 50,000 people have died in the conflict, despite various attempts at ending it on different levels. 2.4 million people have been forced from their homes. In May 2014, the 14,000-strong UN mission to South Sudan was restructured to focus on the protection of civilians. Building the state no longer seemed a realistic goal to pursue.
Image: Reuters
Hopes shattered
Also in May 2015, a meeting of Kiir (far left) and Machar (far right) in Addis Ababa resulted in a ceasefire agreement that sparked hope for peace. Those hopes evaporated when new fighting erupted hours later. Subsequent agreements would be just as short-lived. Not only did the two leaders fail to agree, but observers commented they had long ago lost control over their respective fighters.
Image: Reuters
Opponents reunited
The latest peace agreement, signed in August 2015, had a rocky start. President Salva Kiir at first refused to sign but finally gave in to international pressure. Part of the deal was to guarantee Machar's return from his exile in Ethiopia. But there has been quarrelling over the number of fighters and weapons that could accompany him to Juba.
Image: Reuters/G. Tomasevic
The spoils of war
Meanwhile, the conflict has left the country in ruins. UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Said Raad al-Hussein, says in a report that both government troops and rebels use rape as a means of terror and warfare. The UN Security Council has decided to put in place a commission to investigate the violence.
