S. Sudan enters 3rd year of war with no solution in sight

KHARTOUM, Dec. 16 (Xinhua) -- The armed conflict in South Sudan has entered its third year with no signs of a political solution to lead the new-born state toward much-needed security and stability.

South Sudan descended into violence in mid-December 2013, as fighting erupted between troops loyal to President Salva Kiir Mayardit, and defectors led by his former deputy, Riek Machar.

The conflict rapidly evolved into an all-out war, with violence taking on an ethnic scope, pitting president Dinka's tribe against Machar's Nuer ethnic group.

The warring parties signed a peace agreement under the patronage of the Inter-Governmental Authority for Development in Africa (IGAD) in August 2015.

The deal, however, soon collapsed amid continuous violations of a cease-fire and ensuing widespread clashes, despite extensive internal, regional and international peace efforts.

According to regional and international organizations, both parties committed widespread human rights violations throughout the conflict, including recruiting child soldiers, rape and ethnic cleansing.

These violations led the United Nations Security Council to issue sanctions against military commanders from both sides in South Sudan.

According to the United Nations Children's Fund, 15,000 to 16,000 children are believed to have been recruited by armed forces.

Another UN report, issued on June 30, 2015, accused South Sudan's army, as well as its allied militias, of raping and burning alive both women and girls, in addition to mass incidents of looting, destruction and abduction.

The UN report was based on interviews conducted with 115 witnesses from South Sudan's Unity State, which lived through the most violent bloodshed since the conflict erupted.

Ethnic-based killing was considered the worst violation by both parties, committed systematically at homes, hospitals, mosques, churches, and even UN protection sites.

Analysts view the continued war in South Sudan as a result of failed negotiations amongst South Sudanese politicians.

"Continued war indicates the inefficiency of government and opposition political elites in addressing the conflict's root causes," William Deng, a South Sudanese writer and political analyst, told Xinhua.

"Peace efforts failed to stop the suffering of the South Sudanese population," he said. "It is quite obvious that both parties lack the political will necessary to resolve their differences and to cease the fighting which has destroyed South Sudan."

The clashes so far have claimed the lives of thousands of South Sudanese individuals, and around 2 million others were forced to flee their homes.