JUBA South Sudan's President Salva Kiir said on Friday he had pardoned two senior government officials and promised to release other political prisoners, as his rule faces surging resistance, warfare and famine."I did not come to speak politics. I have come to pardon Gen. Elias Waya and Gen. Andrea Dominic,” Kiir said at a gathering in the capital Juba. "Any other political detainees, I will release them all tomorrow and the day after tomorrow.”
Waya is a former governor of Wau state in the country's northwest and Dominic was his deputy. They were arrested in June 2016 and have since been detained at a military facility in Juba. Officials have never given a reason for their detention.South Sudan, Africa's youngest nation, was first plunged into war in December 2013 when a power struggle between Kiir and his then deputy Riek Machar turned into a military confrontation.
The ensuing two-year conflict was ended by a peace pact in August 2015. Nearly a year ago Machar returned to Juba and his old post, but lingering animus between the two men, who hail from rival tribes, exploded into fighting between their forces again in Juba in June.
War and lawlessness have since uprooted an estimated three million people and decimated the economy. Failed harvests in traditional food basket areas have triggered famine in a country rich in oil resources.On Monday disaffected Lieutenant General Thomas Cirillo Swaka accused Kiir of turning the country's military into a "tribal army", launched a new rebel National Salvation Front and vowed to topple him. (Additional reporting by Hakim George; writing by Elias Biryabarema; editing by Andrew Roche)
Newer articles:
- South Sudan 'to profit' from crisis with $10,000 visas - 11/03/2017 21:28
- Rights, aid groups denounce South Sudan’s sharp increase in visa fees for aid workers - 11/03/2017 19:44
- South Sudan continues to burn as the world watches - 11/03/2017 13:16
- Why South Sudan's Leaders Are Fueling The Implosion Of Their Own Country - 10/03/2017 17:23
- South Sudan melts down as we avert our eyes: Melinda Henneberger - 10/03/2017 13:59
Older news items
- Cholera reaches South Sudan's second-largest city, UN says - 10/03/2017 06:40
- Japan to end 5-year peacekeeping mission in South Sudan - 10/03/2017 06:21
- South Sudan’s government-made famine - 09/03/2017 11:58
- Over 5,000 IDPs Stranded Along Sudan-South Sudan Border - 09/03/2017 09:24
- South Sudan conflict: 'Soldiers will kill you for no reason in Yei' - 08/03/2017 17:59
Latest news items (all categories):
- Escalating insecurity forces MSF to close Ulang hospital in South Sudan - 18/06/2025 11:49
- Let’s Embrace, Foster “collective spirit of the Synod on Synodality”: Cardinal in South Sudan to Pastoral Agents - 18/06/2025 11:45
- Firms led by US military veterans deliver aid in South Sudan and Gaza, alarming humanitarian groups - 18/06/2025 11:37
- تحذير أممي خطير: غزة والسودان وجنوب السودان على رأس قائمة الموت جوعاً - 18/06/2025 11:19
- South Sudan’s peace deal at risk of collapse without stronger regional action, warns UN Commission - 13/06/2025 16:40
Random articles (all categories):
- Politics and Transition in the New South Sudan - 05/04/2011 01:00
- South Sudan: Children Seized From School Not Released Yet - 28/02/2015 21:17
- African Markets - Factors to watch on May 3 - Reuters - 03/05/2012 08:03
- Sudan, Korea flesh out political dialogue - 25/10/2015 17:48
- Death Announcements : Elder James Ogilo Agor - 11/06/2013 12:01
Popular articles:
- Who is the darkest person in the world, according to Guinness World Record? - 25/10/2022 02:34 - Read 113915 times
- No oil in troubled waters - 25/03/2014 15:02 - Read 22776 times
- School exam results in South Sudan show decline - 01/04/2012 17:58 - Read 22352 times
- Top 10 weakest currency exchange rates in Africa in 2023 - 19/07/2023 00:24 - Read 21783 times
- NDSU student from South Sudan receives scholarship - In-Forum - 29/09/2012 01:44 - Read 19691 times