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Pope Francis arrived in South Sudan fulfilling his long-awaited pilgrimage of peace. South Sudan is torn by years of conflict. The country gained independence in 2011. The country has a history of decades of struggle with Muslim-majority Sudan which had grossly affected both regions
Pope Francis arrived in South Sudan fulfilling his long-awaited pilgrimage of peace. South Sudan is torn by years of conflict. The country gained independence in 2011. The country has a history of decades of struggle with Muslim-majority Sudan which had grossly affected both regions. South Sudan is the world’s youngest state.
The country plunged into a bloody five-year civil war between Salva Kiir and Riek Machar, two brothers in 2013, which left 380,000 people dead and millions displaced. The armies of both sides are accused of war crimes. In 2019, one year after a peace agreement, the Pope received the two brothers in the Vatican and patched up their differences. Two brothers are now in power as part of a government of national unity- Mr Kiir is president and Mr Machar is vice president. But the violence continued, fuelled by the political elites, after four years.
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https://trendsnafrica.com/un-humanitarian-mission-in-south-sudan-to-assess-relief-works/
South Sudan, despite its massive poverty and destitution, is still facing violence, which is crippling the country. With the current violence, analysts say, things are worse than they were at the height of the conflict. The Holy See is accompanied by the Archbishop of Canterbury and spiritual leader of the Anglican Church, and Iain Greenshields, the most senior figure in the Church of Scotland. The international community expects that the trip of the papacy along with other ecclesiastical heads would help in drawing attention to the situation in a country where nine million people, three-quarters of the population, need humanitarian aid.
