South Sudan Marks Two Years of Civil War

Four years after gaining independence, South Sudan should be a country of hope but its people are on the edge of starvation. Analysts blame warring parties for the lack of political will to end a two-year civil war.

South Sudan descended into war in December 2013 when President Salva Kiir accused his previous deputy Riek Machar of planning a coup, setting off a cycle of killings that split the country along ethnic lines.

The hopes to bring the country back to normalcy waned a month ago after Riek Machar's delegation failed to turn-up for peace negotiations.

South Sudan's government warned that inviting a large number of armed opposition to the capital, Juba, for the negotiatons, would be a security risk, preferring a smaller delegation.

The spokesman for President Salva Kiir, Ateny Wek Ateny, said the power sharing will never see the light of day, blaming the rebels for sending a delegation of 600 people to Juba.

"Signing a peace agreement is not enough, it will never materialize unless it is implemented by both sides, and the implementation is not a one-way traffic." Ateny told DW.

Warring parties to blame

Under the internationally-brokered peace deal reached after months of negotiations, South Sudan now has a transitional government, headed by President Salva Kiir, and a complex power-sharing formula in which rebels get a share of seats at national and state levels. The deal was intended to end two years of civil war between Kiir and rebels led by Machar.

The conflict has been marked by ethnic killings, gang rapes and child soldier recruitment, claiming thousands of lives and driving some 2.2 million people from their homes.

There is a lack of trust and political will between the government and rebels, Annette Weber of the German Institute for International and Security Affairs (SWP) told DW in an interview.