The peace was short-lived. Two and a half years after secession from Sudan due to religious opression, South Sudan is experiencing conflict of its own. Violence has broken out after President Salva Kiir accused his Vice President, Riek Machar, of staging a coup. In July, Kiir went on to fire Machar and the rest of his cabinet after hearing Machar's plan to run against Kiir in the 2015 presidential election.
Both Kiir and Machar are of the same political party: Sudan's People's Liberation Movement (SPLM). However, they differ in their ethnic backgrounds, Kiir being a Dinka and Machar being a Nuer. The friction between those two rival tribes has erupted into violence.
The White Army, an ethnic Nuer rebel group, is set on marching towards the town of Bor, a government-controlled city viewed as a strategic one.
Why do some African states continue to be plagued with constant violence and civil war? Additionally, why are coups a primary form of achieving power? It could be due to the great number of tribes/political groups/etc. in African states competing individually for power and too little effort towards coalition building. Because of this competition for power, groups will do anything to stay in power, and other groups will do anything to force them out.
The South Sudan conflict is unfortunate as the country was doing well: peaceful and showing some signs of stability. Hopefully the issue can be resolved without outside help as that may create the best opportunity for sustainable progress.
http://america.aljazeera.com/content/ajam/opinions/2013/12/south-sudana-s-salvakiirneedstoputhisblackhatbackon.html
http://www.economist.com/blogs/baobab/2013/04/south-sudan-politics
http://www.csmonitor.com/World/Africa/2011/0721/South-Sudan-5-key-questions-answered/Why-did-the-Republic-of-South-Sudan-secede-from-the-North
