Photo: Cassandra Nelson/Mercy Corps

South Sudan is so far away and so deep in the shadow of the crisis in Darfur that few would give the region a second thought. It borders one of continental Africa’s largest oil reserves but is one of the poorest regions in the world as a result of the two decades’ long civil war, waged between North and South Sudan. The war ended in 2005 with the Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA), but Sudan’s President Omar Al-Bashir, who is from the North, is slowly pulling out of that agreement. His armies, without reason or provocation, have begun creating conflicts in the south. New York Times journalist Nicholas Kristoff recently visited the region, where he examined signs of Khartoum's renewed interest in controlling the area through violence if necessary.

We think about Darfur as almost synonymous with Sudan these days, forgetting other parts of the country, where the conflict has left communities destitute and vulnerable. The limited media coverage tends to only focus on Darfur and the hope for successful execution of the CPA to resolve the crisis.

What we don't hear is that what is brewing in South Sudan might easily lead to the reawakening of a deep conflict that haunted the country for decades.

Kristoff writes;

"Although people speak of renewed 'war,' the violence is more likely to resemble what happens in a stockyard. If it is like the last time, government-sponsored Arab militias will slaughter civilians so as to terrorize local populations and drive them far away from oil wells."

With such strong words, I expected to find coverage of this issue with ease – and was surprise to note that, except for a briefing published in March by International Crisis Group, [a few weeks after my original post], the growing violence in South Sudan is not being reported. I almost want to believe that Mr. Kristoff has made a mistake – except he was there, not me.