50,000 dead in South Sudan's escalating crisis

At least 50,000 lives have been lost in South Sudan’s civil war that began in 2013 which also led to the displacement of more than two million people.

In a press briefing, a senior United Nations official said, the statistics given could be higher, as the warring parties drag their feet in the implementation of a peace deal.

At least 200,000 people are being sheltered by UN peacekeepers at six protection sites.

The international organisation recently said the conflicting parties in the country are still in full control of their forces and therefore to blame for the deaths of civilians.

UN official says at least 50000 dead in South Sudan war – Reuters https://t.co/U4osn1i3vz #NoAgenda #MvDint

— Mr van Dalen INT (@MrvanDalenINT) March 3, 2016

At the beginning of the year, Salva Kiir and Riek Machar agreed to share positions in the transitional government that saw the reappointment of Machar to his former post as vice president.

South Sudan’s population however anticipate the formation of the transitional unity government and how it will take advantage of the country’s new status as a member of the East African Community.

The international community has keenly been following the happenings of the world’s youngest nation with US Secretary of State warning of individual sanctions if the two leaders will not deliver on the peace deal.

Last week, Angola proposed an arms embargo on the landlocked country, but Russia opposed the move saying it would not be necessary.

The civil war was sparked by disputes between Kiir and Machar that set off a cycle of retaliatory killings that have split the poverty-stricken nation along ethnic lines.