Newest nation ‘spiralling into civil war’

South Sudan is already in a civil war, an expert on the country’s conflict has warned, writes Liz Dodd.

John Ashworth, a Mill Hill Missionary who has worked in the region since 1982 and advises the Church there, said that fighting between the Government and rebels was largely confined to three of the 10 states but “explosions of violence” had now spread across the country.

The Church has repeatedly called for peace and it sheltered thousands at the start of the conflict, he added, but said that rebels had started targeting the churches where civilians hid. In the north-eastern Diocese of Malakal, “people were being killed in churches, young girls being taken out of the churches and raped. The Anglican Church had some of its women deacons raped and killed inside a church. It’s getting more widespread.”

Speaking to The Tablet on a visit to the UK, he praised the Catholic agencies Cafod and Caritas for providing aid. He called on the international community to back the peace process, but said it must not take over. “It has to be a South Sudanese and an African process,” he said. “This time we need a solution which really involves the people.”

Much of the conflict arose from problems that emerged when South Sudan seceded in 2011, such as corruption and nepotism, he added, as well as a failure to build national identity, which had led to people turning against each other.