US president declares South Sudan conflict a national security threat

April 1, 2015 (JUBA) - President of the United States of America, Barack Obama, on Tuesday signed executive order number13664 to deal with the ongoing crisis in South Sudan, saying the raging civil war poses a threat to US national security and foreign policy.

US president Barack Obama (Photo: Getty Images)

In the order, Obama decided to extend US national emergency of April 2014 beyond April 2015 so that the US can deal with the country’s mounting problems.

The order comes more than fifteen months after fighting broke out in mid-December of 2013. The US president stressed that the war in South Sudan has created instability for the surrounding region including widespread atrocities and human rights related issues.

"I declared a national emergency to deal with the unusual and extraordinary threat to the national security and foreign policy of the United States constituted by the situation in and in relation to South Sudan, which has been marked by activities that threaten the peace, security, or stability of South Sudan and the surrounding region, including widespread violence and atrocities, human rights abuses, recruitment and use of child soldiers, attacks on peacekeepers, and obstruction of humanitarian operations," the order reads in part.

The executive order, which will be published in the US’s federal register and transmitted to the American congress, explicitly labels South Sudan’s armed conflict as a threat to US interests.

"The situation in and in relation to South Sudan continues to pose an unusual and extraordinary threat to the national security and foreign policy of the United States. For this reason, the national emergency declared on April 3, 2014, to deal with that threat must continue in effect beyond April 3, 2015," the document added.

The US presidential order appears to be indicating that the Obama administration is closer to taking action. The order is entitled ’Blocking Property of Certain Persons with Respect to South Sudan.’

However, it is not clear what actions Obama will take. On 6 March, the peace process mediated by the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD) between the two warring factions collapsed in Addis Ababa after president Kiir and rebel leader Riek Machar failed to agree on the outstanding issues including power sharing, security arrangements, among other sticking points.

On Tuesday, minister of information and broadcasting Michael Makuei Lueth announced that Juba did not want Troika countries (US, UK, and Norway) to be part of future peace negotiations, citing that threats of sanctions make them ’not neutral.’

(ST)