South Sudan: No Quick Solution to Crisis

As peace talks between South Sudan's government and rebels in Addis Ababa stall yet again, aid agencies warn that the crisis is driving the nation to famine. Are flaws in the implementation of earlier deals to blame?

The US think tank Fund For Peace has declared South Sudan as the most fragile state in world, beating even Somalia to the bottom of its ranking table.

South Sudan's troubles run deep, but can be partly traced back to the recent past before it became an independent nation in 2011.

Jok Madud Jok is the founder of the South Sudanese think tank, SUDD Institute. He said the reason why the treaty signed by Sudan and southern Sudan in 2005 has failed to bring peace to either side is because the population wasn't permitted to participate in the peace process.

"It is only a peace agreement between the two leading warring parties creating two oil kleptocracies in Sudan and South Sudan, dividing the pie," he told Deutsche Welle.

New round of talks adjourned

The world's youngest country, South Sudan has been wracked by fighting between government troops loyal to President Salva Kiir and rebels backing ex-vice president Reik Machar since December 2013.

Michael Taban, chairman of the South Sudan Council of Churches, wants the voice of the people to be heard at the peace talks

Protracted, intermittent peace talks in Addis Abba, brokered by the regional grouping IGAD, have cost over $17 milion (12 million euros), but have so far failed to stop the war. Ceasefire agreements have been violated repeatedly.

A new round of talks in Addis Ababa was to have included new players such as civil society organizations, faith-based groups and others, in addition to the government and rebel negotiators. But the rebels boycotted the talks on Monday (22.06.2014) because of a dispute over who should attend them. The talks were adjourned.

Representatives from faith-based groups include Michael Taban from the South Sudan Council of Churches. He called on the warring parties to "be serious in their talks."

Creating lasting peace will be time consuming