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Salva Kiir & Riek Machar: South Sudan'S Shaky Peace

South Sudan became the world's youngest nation in July 2011, but despite independence the country went to conflict again two years later, when civil war broke out - leaving tens of thousands dead, more than two million people displaced and an economy in ruins. In 2013, former rebel leader and vice president Riek Machar was sacked by President Salva Kiir in a cabinet purge. Later that year, Kiir accused him of plotting a coup, which prompted Machar to flee the capital, Juba.Machar denied the allegation, but the incident triggered South Sudan's vicious civil war.After protracted negotiations by regional mediators, a peace deal was achieved between both sides in August last year and Machar has been sworn in again as vice president.Kiir and Machar, have agreed to share power and are now tasked with rebuilding the world's youngest country that has been devastated by the conflict.South Sudan is facing severe economic problems, and a deal with international donours has yet to be implemented.'Whenever there are displaced people, or there are refugees, the solution is always money so that you can settle them. And then you get them food, medicine, everything so that they live comfortably, whether they are foreigners or citizens. So our problem is money. We have no money.' says Kiir.Riek Machar's delayed but much-publicised return should mean a positive working relationship with his arch rival Salva Kiir, but the key question is: Can they work together And are they aiming for the same goals'We are unified now... As the government of national unity, we are functioning smoothly,' President Salva Kiir says.But asked about the agreement and his message to Riek Machar, Kiir says: 'When you preach messages of hate, probably you are going to divide the people.The problem, that we are not moving smoothly on the implementation of the agreement, is the way the agreement was designed. And when I signed this agreement in August last year, I said this in front of the president of Uganda. I

English
  • Originally Aired July 9, 2016
  • Runtime 20 minutes
  • Production Code 5027687494001
  • Network Al Jazeera
  • Created August 2, 2016 by
    Administrator admin
  • Modified August 2, 2016 by
    Administrator admin
Name Type Role
Salva Kiir Guest Star
Riek Machar Guest Star