Crisis Chronology | South Sudan

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SOUTH SUDAN

03/30/2023

Kiir appoints a member of his own party as defence minister, breaching a peace deal in which the role should be selected by the party of opposition leader Riek Machar. Kiir fired Angelina Teny, who is also First Vice President Machar's wife, along with the interior minister this month, re-igniting long-standing disagreements over how the two war veterans share power.

12/22/2022

Kiir urinates on himself during public event, spurring questions of whether he should be president. He is 71.

12/08/2022

More than 9,000 people have fled in fighting between armed factions in South Sudan’s Upper Nile state, the United Nations has said.

10/27/2022

Machar is ousted from his party, the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement, because he has become aligned with a breakaway party, the SPLMA-IO.

04/13/2022

Kiir orders that military officers loyal to Machar be integrated into the armed forces.

04/04/2022

Kirr and Machar agree on command structurer of the military, a significant step forward. President Kiir’s supporters will have 60% of the posts and Vice-President Machar’s 40%.

03/25/2022

Military has surrounded the house of vice-president Riek Machar. Machar asks other countries, including Sudan’s leader Gen. al-Burhan for help against the forces of President Salva Kiir, which have been fighting Machar loyalists in the states of Unity and Upper Nile.

09/27/2021

Sudan reaches an agreement with tribal protesters in the east to allow the resumption of exports of landlocked South Sudan’s crude oil via a terminal on the Red Sea. The Beja people were blocking exports in protest over a lack of political power and poor economic conditions in the region. Sudan receives a portion of South Sudan’s oil export income.

08/28/2021

Civilian rights leaders arrested ahead of proposed demonstrations by the People’s Coalition for Civil Action.

08/07/2021

Fighting between factions of Machar’s SPLA-IO (Sudan People’s Liberation Movement-in-Opposition, or Sudan People’s Liberation Army, which split from Kiir’s Sudan People’s Liberation Movement). Machar’s rivals, led by Simon Gatwech Dual, announced that they have deposed him as head of the political and military forces.

04/08/2021

Machar is deposed as leader of the military wing of SPLM, due to his association with a breakaway group from the SPLM, the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement – In Opposition (SPLMA-IO).

04/05/2020

South Sudan confirms its first case of COVID-19.

02/21/2020

Kiir appoints Machar first vice-president again, paving the way for a new unity government.

02/16/2020

Machar rejects peace proposal by Kiir, saying that he agrees to reducing the number of states to ten, he opposes the formation of three administrative zones.

12/10/2019

Kiir and Machar meet to discuss steps forward on the peace accord.

11/08/2019

Kiir and Machar agree to delay formation of the unity government for 100 days.

10/21/2019

Machar threatens not to be part of unity government, set to be formed on 11/12. The government says it does not have enough money to proceed with disarmament of the rebels and their integration into the army.

09/11/2019

Kiir and Machar once again agree to work together to form an interim government by 11/12.

05/04/2019

Riek and Machar agree to a six-month extension of the peace agreement, effective 5/12, to allow them to form a new government.

05/01/2019

Kiir and Machar to meet to discuss stalled peace arrangement.

04/12/2019

Machar expresses doubts that the leaders can form a unity government by the deadline of 5/12 and suggests a six-month extension of the deadline.

02/22/2019

UN warns that food shortages in South Sudan is reaching a crisis and may affect seven million, and that brutality and human rights abuses may reach the level of war crimes.

12/31/2018

Production resumes at large Unity oil field, South Sudan’s major source of income, five years after it was closed due to the war.

10/31/2018

Machar returns to the capital for the first time since fleeing two years ago.

10/31/2018

Machar returns to the capital for the first time since fleeing two years ago.

09/13/2018

Final treaty between all parties is signed. The agreement envisions a revitalized transitional government of national unity RTGoNU that will govern for thirty-six months, beginning eight months after the signing of the agreement. The RTGoNU is to hold elections sixty days before the end of the transitional period.

08/31/2018

Rebels agree to sign peace treaty with South Sudan government.

08/28/2018

Riek Machar and his SPLM-IO group at first refuse to sign the peace agreement because disputes about power-sharing and a new constitution, but later says he will sign the final agreement on 8/31 after his issues are taken up by the Inter-Governmental Authority on Development. The situation remains confused.

08/08/2018

Kiir grants amnesty to all those who participated in the civil war, including Reik Machar.

08/05/2018

South Sudan government reaches peace agreement with Machar and other rebel groups. It proposes a transitional government with members of all factions, dominated by Kiir allies.

07/25/2018

Kiir and Machar formally sign power-sharing agreement, though some rebels still refuse to accept it.

07/23/2018

Government signs peace agreement with rebels in Kapoeta state.

07/09/2018

Rebels reject peace agreement reinstating Machar saying that it does not sufficiently restrict Kiir’s power.

07/08/2018

Machar to be reinstated as vice-president of South Sudan, as part of peace agreement.

07/06/2018

Government and rebels reach agreement on security arrangements.

07/03/2018

Government proposes to extend Kiir’s term by three years, to 2021. The opposition condemns the proposal, which may further undermine the peace accord.

07/03/2018

Media reports that the Anti-Corruption Bureau is investigating corruption that benefited Mutharika personally.

06/30/2018

Ceasefire is broken; government and rebels accuse each other.

06/27/2018

Peace agreement signed

Kiir and Machar sign peace agreement. It will take effect in three days and allow the AU and IGAD to deploy peacekeeping forces. A new transitional government will be formed to rule for thirty-six months, until elections.

06/25/2018

New talks begin in Khartoum between Machar and Kiir.

06/22/2018

After Machar’s allies in South Sudan reject an “imposed” peace plan, Kiir says that he will no longer deal with Machar, and that Machar will be relocated to some country not near South Sudan. However, another member of the opposition will still hold a vice-presidency in the regime.

06/22/2018

Muslim leader Aman Aburrahman sentenced to death for 2016 terrorist attack.

06/05/2018

Under the auspices of IGAD (Inter Governmental Authority on Development), Kiir agrees to meet with Machar, currently under house arrest in South Africa.

06/01/2018

UN Security Council renews some sanctions on South Sudan and says it will consider further sanctions and a travel ban on some leaders if the fighting does end by 6/30.

12/21/2017

South Sudan and rebel groups sign ceasefire agreement

12/18/2017

South Sudan rebels call for a cease-fire to respect the beginning of peace talks in Addis Ababa.

11/06/2017

Discussions between Malong and government officials.

11/04/2017

Troops surround home of former South Sudan military chief Paul Malong, and confiscate weapons.