Civil War Ends in South Sudan : Regional Analysis - East Africa

Abstract

For the civil war-weary Republic of South Sudan, 2016 began on a propitious note with combat operations ceasing. Armed conflict has created a humanitarian crisis, taking a toll of tens of thousands of lives and undermining the economy of Africa's youngest country, which achieved independence from Sudan in 2011. Any territorially insecure African state becomes a vacuum that terrorist groups hurry to fill, as the Islamic State (ISIS) did in Libya and Somalia's al-Shabaab attempted to do in South Sudan, where 70 members of the terror group were arrested in October 2015. In both Libya and South Sudan, the impending establishment of a central authority will allow for a single army to attend to national security. With more ability to combat international terror groups, South Sudan can now become a contributor to the East African region's war on terror, rather than a weak link in the regional security chain.