A surge in community violence in South Sudan, has added to insecurity in the country as a whole and exposed the fragile peace pact signed by the warring parties.

The current localised conflicts make it harder to implement the peace agreement signed by parties. The peace deal which was aimed at ending hostilities, protecting civilians and access to aid, and enable power sharing, state building and security sector reform is now under threats due to the current situation.

The UN Secretary-General’s Special Representative for South Sudan and Head of the United Nations Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS), Nicholas Haysom, voiced his concerns on October 15, about the increase in localised violence.

Nicholas Haysom, indicated that, some of the conflicts are due to the fracture within the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement-in-Opposition (SPLM/A-IO) dating back in April. Meanwhile, a recent analysis by the Institute for Security Studies showed that the split, which led to violence, is disrupting the unification of the army – a vital part of the peace agreement.

83,000 Ex-combatants Meant to Join the Country’s Unified Force not Deployed

According to Mr Hayson, the community violence is also fuelled by the presence of armed men whose amalgamation into a unified army, as required by the peace deal, has been delayed by the slow pace of security sector reform. None of the 83,000 ex-combatants who were supposed to join the country’s unified force have been deployed.

For more than a year, former fighters from all armed groups have been assembled in military camps awaiting training. The delay in moving them to training sites due to a lack of finances and political will has led many to seek other means of survival. These include weapons smuggling and cattle raiding, which have inflamed community violence.

The UN Secretary-General’s Special Representative noted that structural problems also fed the resurgence in localised violence and complicated the implementation of other parts of the peace agreement such as power sharing, state building and security reform. The continuing lack of trust between the signatories has led to clashes between their supporters and military wings, with suspicions running rife that some are trying to dominate the process.

As a result, Mr Haysom noted that some armed forces are still not quartered in military camps as the recent skirmishes continue. “This creates power imbalances in communities that can quickly turn violent.” Locals affected by the clashes lose confidence in the political parties and the transition process, undermining the gains made so far.

However, the increased availability of weapons in South Sudan is another factor in the rise of community violence. Despite UN Security Council arms embargoes, United Nations Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS) has acknowledged that the proliferation of arms has stoked the violence involving community-based militias since 2018.

Accessing Humanitarian Need Becoming Difficult

In the absence of a functional state, localised conflicts also make it difficult to get humanitarian support to South Sudan’s vulnerable populations. Aid workers are increasingly attacked, and marauding groups destroy much-needed items and assets. This leads to forced migration, adding to the already high numbers of internally displaced people and refugees. It also reduces the chances that migrants will return to the country.

Community clashes and the factors that drive them are directly and indirectly undermining the peace agreement. Breaking South Sudan’s cycle of violence requires a focus on political and security arrangements as well as citizens’ socio-economic needs.

The UN rep stated that long-term development interventions in the current climate will be complex and high-risk, given the country’s deep governance deficit. But these options should be investigated to lessen community dependence on parallel economies that induce violence, such as weapons smuggling, cattle raiding and other criminal activities.

So far, more than 1,197 incidents of community-level violence were recorded in 2020, a significant increase from 487 in 2019. Between August and October this year, 2021, over 70,800 people have been displaced from Western Equatoria, Warrap and Upper Nile.