US State Department Issues ‘Ordered Departure’ for Embassy in South Sudan

With oil resources supporting its young economy, optimism was high.

D’Agoot said he hopes for the best and that all the war lords who “now call the shots on both sides” will accept and adhere to the terms of the cease-fire.

The president of South Sudan declared a unilateral cease-fire Monday to a conflict that has seen fierce clashes between his army and opposition forces spread from the capital to a southeastern town.

The conflict is split along ethnic lines, as well as political rivalries: Kiir is a Dinka, and Machar is a Nuer.

This is indeed a troubling time for the South Sudanese people who have suffered the brunt of war since 1954, and had finally tested peace after getting independence from Sudan in 2011. Meanwhile, the United Nations and others warned repeatedly of a humanitarian disaster as the civil war made it all but impossible to deliver aid to many areas of the country.

On Sunday, a day after the country’s 5th independence anniversary, residents of Juba woke up to heavy gunfire in which hundreds of people, mostly soldiers, were reportedly killed.

A statement from the U.S. Embassy in Juba said it was not closing.

In August 2015, after intense pressure from the global community, Kiir and Machar signed a peace deal that called for a two-year transitional government of ministers and parliamentarians from the two sides before new elections. But fighting continued despite the peace agreement and the current clashes in Juba threaten to plunge the parts of South Sudan that had been relatively stable back into violence.

D’Agoot said Kiir and Machar as much as admitted they were not in charge of their troops when fighting broke out near the presidential State House on Friday, when they were both inside. They are meant to hold joint patrols but have yet to work together and remain stationed in separate areas.

Kiir and Macahar issued a ceasefire Monday.

Some global organizations and businesses have started evacuating workers from South Sudan, a further blow to its severely weakened economy.

South Sudan’s president has ordered the army to cease hostilities and protect civilians, effective immediately. Witnesses reported “very, very heavy fighting” in Juba with residents barricading themselves inside houses and aid workers holed up in bunkers while the USA embassy warned of “serious fighting between government and opposition forces”. The U.N. said some units and officers who failed to respond would be sent home.