Violance in South Sudan

South Sudan’s growing conflict reflects rivalry between president and his former deputy

JUBA, South Sudan — They were an unlikely pair to lead the world’s newest nation — from different tribal groups and different regions, having taken vastly different paths to power. President Salva Kiir, a field commander with little formal education, was known for his black cowboy hat. His vice president, Riek Machar, had earned a doctorate in Britain and preferred Western suits.The men are at the center of what could be the unraveling of this fragile African country into full-blown civil war, 21 / 2 years after it became an independent nation backed by the United States and its allies.

JUBA, Süd-Sudan - Sie waren ein ungleiches Paar, um die neueste Nation der Welt führen - aus verschiedenen Stammesgruppen und verschiedenen Regionen, mit sehr unterschiedlichen Wegen an die Macht gekommen. Präsident Salva Kiir, ein Feldherr mit geringer formaler Bildung, wurde für seinen schwarzen Cowboy-Hut bekannt. Sein Vizepräsident Riek Machar, hatte einen Doktortitel in Großbritannien und bevorzugte westliche Anzüge.Die Männer sind im Zentrum dessen, was zur Entschlüsselung beitragen könnte , was dieses fragile afrikanische Land zu einem ausgewachsenen Bürgerkrieg, 21/2 Jahre, nachdem es zu einer unabhängigen Nation durch die Vereinigten Staaten und ihre Verbündeten unterstützt, geworden war.

In July, Kiir fired Machar, weary of his ambition and stinging criticism, and purged other political rivals from his cabinet as well. A week ago, after a faction of presidential guard soldiers loyal to Machar clashed with a group loyal to Kiir, the president publicly accused his former deputy of attempting to overthrow the government.Since then, the fighting has spread, leaving hundreds of soldiers and civilians dead. Nearly 40,000 South Sudanese and foreigners, including Americans, have taken refuge at United Nations bases. By Sunday, soldiers who claim allegiance to Machar controlled the remote town of Bor and several other areas, reportedly including Bentiu, the capital of the vital oil-producing state of Unity.

Im Juli feuerte Kiir Machar, da er der stechenden Kritik überdrüssig war. Gleichzeitig befreite er sich von weiteren politischen Rivalen in seinem Kabinett.Eine Woche nach diesem Ereignis kollidierte eine Gruppe der Präsidentengarde, die loyal zu Kiir standen mit einer Gruppe von Soldaten, die Machar ergeben waren. Die Soldaten der Präsidentengarde beschuldigten den entlassenen Stellvertreter, dass er die Regierung stürzen wollte.Seitdem eskalierte der Streit. Kämpfe breiteten sich aus, so dass inzwischen hunderte von Zivilisten und Soldaten getötet wurden. Fast 40.000 Südsudanesen und Ausländer, darunter Amerikaner haben Zuflucht in den Basen der Vereinten Nationen gesucht.Am 29. 12.2013 verlautete dass Machar-treue Soldaten die Stadt Bor, einige andere Bereiche, einschließlich der Stadt Bentiu , des Hauptstützpunktes der Ölproduktion des Landes kotrollieren.

Präsident Salva Kiir gehört zum einflussreichen Volk der Dinka President Salva Kiir belongs to the influential people of the Dinka

File photo of Riek Machar. President Salva Kiir accused ex-vice-president Riek Machar of staging the coup. Machar on Thursday asked the Army to topple Kiir. Tension had been mounting in South Sudan since Kiir fired Machar as his deputy in July. AFP

The body of a dead rebel, killed by South Sudanese army soldiers during a gunfight, lies next to a destroyed military truck near Bor Airport,108 miles northwest of Juba, South Sudan’s capital.James Akena / Reuters

The body of a man said to be a rebel lies on the ground in the market Bor.Waakhe Simon Wudu / AFP/Getty Images

The United Nations’ top humanitarian official in the country, Toby Lanzer, center left, makes a visit to a U.N. compound where many displaced have sought shelter in Bentiu, South Sudan.Anna Adhikari / AP

The president of Chad, Idriss Deby, holds a news conference with Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir in Khartoum, Sudan. The presidents were discussing issues between their countries, as well as the conflicts in nearby South Sudan and the Central African Republic.

Asharf Shazly / AFP/Getty Images

Displaced people camp inside a bus at the Tomping United Nations base near Juba international airport, where some 12,000 people from the Nuer tribe have sought refuge.James Akena / Reuters

Displaced families camp inside the Tomping U.N. base near Juba, South Sudan's capital.JAMES AKENA / REUTERS

Some of the 12,000 refugees the Tomping U.N. base.JAMES AKENA / REUTERS

An injured child rests in a tent at the U.N. base near Juba's airport.JAMES AKENA / REUTERS

A child stands in front a makeshift camp inside a U.N. facility in Jabel, on the outskirts of the South Sudanese capital, Juba. Clashes between rival groups of soldiers in Juba a week ago have spread across South Sudan, which won its

independence from Sudan in 2011 after decades of war.James Akena / Reuters

Nyajing Gadet, 3, sits with her mother, Elizabeth Nakiru, in turbulent Juba. Amid fighting between rival groups, a soldier fired bullets through the family’s walls and windows, and one grazed Nyajing’s head.

Sudarsan Raghavan / The Washington Post

Families displaced by recent fighting in South Sudan gather to be registered to receive dry food rations at a makeshift camp inside a U.N. facility in Jabel, on the outskirts of the capital, Juba.

James Akena / Reuters

Families displaced by recent fighting in South Sudan camp spend time in a warehouse inside a U.N. facility in Jabel. President Salva Kiir, from South Sudan's Dinka ethnic group, has accused former Vice President Riek

Machar, a Nuer whom he dismissed in July, of trying to launch a coup. Machar dismissed the charge but has since said he is commanding troops fighting the government.

James Akena / Reuters

U.N. Deputy Special Representative and Humanitarian Coordinator Toby Lanzer, center, assists wounded civilians from Bor, the capital of Jonglei state, said to be the scene of fierce clashes between government troops and rebels,

after they were transported by a U.N. helicopter to Juba.U.N. Mission in South Sudan via AP

Wounded civilians from Bor are assisted after being transported by U.N. helicopter to Juba. South Sudan's central government lost control of the capital of a key oil-producing state on Sunday, the military said, as renegade forces

loyal to a former deputy president seized more territory in fighting that has raised fears of full-blown civil war in the world's newest country.

U.N. Mission in South Sudan via AP

A South Sudanese girl puts her family’s laundry out to dry on a barbed-wire fence at a makeshift camp at the United Nations Mission in South Sudan in Juba, the nation’s capital. World leaders have stepped up calls for the country's

feuding politicians to end the fighting that has pushed the country to the brink of civil war.Tony Karumba / AFP/Getty Images

South Sudanese men sit huddled at a U.N. compound in Juba. Secretary General Ban Ki-moon on Sunday called for an immediate end to violence in South Sudan, where the death toll is mounting from fighting between rival forces

loyal to the president and his sacked deputy.Tony Karumba / AFP/Getty Images

The U.N. refugee compound in Juba, South Sudan.Tony Karumba / AFP/Getty Images

South Sudanese women jostle to get at the head of a queue for water being distributed from a U.N. reservoir at the U.N. Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS) compound in Juba. Brutal fighting in South Sudan has reopened deep-rooted ethnic divisions, forcing tens of thousands of terrified residents to seek shelter at U.N. bases or flee in fear of attacks.Tony Karumba / AFP/Getty Images

Women queue for water being distributed at the UNMISS compound in Juba. U.N. peacekeepers are sheltering more than 35,000 civilians in various bases across the country, many belonging to the minority ethnic group in

their respective areas.Tony Karumba / AFP/Getty Images

Women queue for water being distributed at the UNMISS compound in Juba.Tony Karumba / AFP/Getty Images

Residents of Juba arrive at a U.N. compound seeking shelter. African diplomats made a push for peace in South Sudan on Friday as bitter fighting spread across the world's youngest nation, with President Obama warning

that the oil-rich state was on the brink of civil war.Tony Karumba / AFP/Getty Images

Soldiers from the Sudan People’s Liberation Army stand in a vehicle in Juba.Goran Tomasevic / Reuters

South Sudanese President Salva Kiir, right, greets an unidentified member of an African ministerial delegation trying to mediate between the government and rebel forces, in Juba. East African foreign ministers flew into

South Sudan’s capital Friday to mediate between the government and rebel forces, in a crisis that has pushed the nation to the brink of civil war.

Phillip Dhil / European Pressphoto Agency

Internally displaced boys stand next to barbed wire inside a United Nations Missions in South Sudan (UNMISS) compound in Juba, South Sudan.

Goran Tomasevic / Reuters

United Nations Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS) troops from Bangladesh assist civilians at the U.N. compound in Juba. The United Nations’ humanitarian arm said Friday that 34,000 people in South Sudan are seeking refuge amid

the fighting at three U.N. bases across the country.AP / United Nations Mission in South Sudan via AP

An man holds his son inside a United Nations Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS) compound in Juba, the young nation’s capital.

Goran Tomasevic / Reuters

An internally displaced boy carries his belongings inside a UNMISS compound in Juba.Goran Tomasevic / Reuters

A South Sudan army soldier holds his weapon in Bor, 108 miles northwest from Juba, December 25, 2013. South Sudanese troops have retaken the flashpoint town of Bor in Jonglei state, a week after the town fell to rebels loyal to rebel leader Riek Machar. (James Akena/Reuters)

People arrive to seek refuge in the UNMISS compound in Juba. South Sudan’s former vice president on Wednesday denied accusations that he led a coup bid against his archrival, President Salva Kiir, after days of fierce fighting that has killed hundreds of people and sent thousands fleeing to U.N. bases.

AFP/Getty Images

People arrive to seek refuge in the UNMISS compound in Juba.AFP/Getty Images

A U.N. officer stands guard as civilians arrive at the UNMISS compound adjacent to the Juba International Airport.Rolla Hinedi / United Nations Mission in the Republic of South Sudan via AP

South Sudanese Minister of Information Michael Makuei Lueth urges civilians not to return to their homes for security reasons after recent fighting in the capital. The government of South Sudan said Tuesday that it has arrested 10 leading figures, many of them former ministers, as clashes raged for two days in the capital. The clashes, which have left scores of people dead, most of them soldiers, pitted troops loyal to President Salva Kiir against those allied to deposed vice president Riek Machar.Rolla Hinedi / United Nations Mission in the Republic of South Sudan via AFP/Getty Images

Photos: Washington Post