State of emergency declared in parts of South Sudan

<h3>South Sudanese President Salva Kiir has declared a three-month state emergency in the northwestern part of the country after intensified inter-ethnic clashes.</h3> <p>The president invoked the state of emergency in a decree read on the state-run <span class="caps">SSBC</span> TV evening news on Monday, July 17, 2017, declaring Gogrial State, part of Tonj, Wau and Awiel States respectively under lock down.</p> <p>Several civilians have been reportedly killed in the Greater Bahr el Ghazel region where the inter-ethnic clashes intensified.</p> <p>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.</p> <p>The conflict has slashed oil revenues and paralyzed agriculture.</p>