State of emergency declared in parts of South Sudan

South Sudanese President Salva Kiir has declared a three-month state emergency in the northwestern part of the country after intensified inter-ethnic clashes.

The president invoked the state of emergency in a decree read on the state-run SSBC TV evening news on Monday, July 17, 2017, declaring Gogrial State, part of Tonj, Wau and Awiel States respectively under lock down.

Several civilians have been reportedly killed in the Greater Bahr el Ghazel region where the inter-ethnic clashes intensified.

The world’s youngest country plunged into civil war in 2013 just two years after gaining independence after Kiir fired his deputy, triggering a conflict fought largely along ethnic lines.

The conflict has slashed oil revenues and paralyzed agriculture.