Violence In South Sudan Threatens Chinese Oil Investment.
On December 15, 2013, fierce fighting broke out in South Sudan’s capital, Juba. Rebel forces loyal to Machar targeted South Sudan’s oil fields, and what started as a clash, quickly escalated to a civil war. Violence swept the country, killing tens of thousands people and displacing over one million.
The UN estimates that almost a third of the population, 4 million people, is now in dire need of humanitarian assistance. The promise of nation-building seems to be a distant memory as South Sudanese leaders viciously struggle to claim power.
Months of ongoing political tensions between President Kiir and Machar has inexorably reopened deep fault lines among ethnic groups, begging the question: Can these two main tribal groups reach a common ground before they destroy the world’s youngest nation?
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When South Sudan became independent, it gained not only sovereignty but control of about three-fourths of Sudan’s oil production, a devastating blow to Sudan’s economy. The IMF estimates that Sudan lost roughly 55% of its fiscal revenues and about two-thirds of its foreign exchange earnings. Sudan’s crude oil export revenues were dramatically slashed from a near $11 billion in 2010 to less than $2 billion in 2012.
