[19] South Sudan descended into a civil war from 2013 to 2020, enduring rampant human rights abuses, including forced displacement, ethnic massacres, and killings of journalists by various parties.

[31] British policies favouring Christian missionaries, such as the Closed District Ordinance of 1922 (see History of Anglo-Egyptian Sudan), and geographical barriers such as the swamplands along the White Nile curtailed the spread of Islam to the south, thus allowing the southern tribes to retain much of their social and cultural heritage, as well as their political and religious institutions.

British colonial policy in Sudan had a long history of emphasizing the development of the Arab north and largely ignoring the Black African south, which lacked schools, hospitals, roads, bridges, and other basic infrastructure.

[32][33] People affected by the violence included the Dinka, Nuer, Shilluk, Anyuak, Murle, Bari, Mundari, Baka, Balanda Bviri, Boya, Didinga, Jiye, Kakwa, Kaligi, Kuku, Lotuka, Nilotic, Toposa, and Zande.

[34] The Azande have had good relations with their neighbours, namely the Moru, Mundu, Pöjulu, Avukaya, Baka, and the small groups in Bahr el Ghazal, due to the expansionist policy of their king Gbudwe, in the 18th century.

[41] And on 23 January 2011, members of a steering committee on post-independence governing told reporters that upon independence the land would be named the Republic of South Sudan "out of familiarity and convenience".

[51] The fighters accuse the government of plotting to stay in power indefinitely, not fairly representing and supporting all tribal groups while neglecting development in rural areas.

[56] The writer raised critical questions surrounding what he described as the rise of autocracy within the top leadership of the Sudan People's Liberation Movement (SPLM) and warned of monumental repercussions unless the ruling elites restored the founding principles of the party.

Surveys begun in 2005 by WCS in partnership with the semi-autonomous government of Southern Sudan revealed that significant, though diminished wildlife populations still exist, and that, astonishingly, the huge migration of 1.3 million antelopes in the southeast is substantially intact.

[citation needed] In 2006, President Kiir announced that his government would do everything possible to protect and propagate South Sudanese fauna and flora, and seek to reduce the effects of wildfires, waste dumping, and water pollution.

On 8 May 2021, South Sudan President Salva Kiir announced a dissolution of Parliament as part of a 2018 peace deal to set up a new legislative body that will number 550 lawmakers.

In September 2011, a spokesman for the government said the country's political leaders had accepted a proposal to build a new capital at Ramciel,[97] a place in Lakes state near the borders with Central Equatoria and Jonglei.

Ramciel is considered to be the geographical centre of the country,[98] and the late pro-independence leader John Garang allegedly had plans to relocate the capital there before his death in 2005.

[107] Essam Sharaf, Prime Minister of Egypt after the 2011 Egyptian Revolution, made his first foreign visit to Khartoum and Juba in the lead-up to South Sudan's secession.

[131] In July 2019, UN ambassadors of 37 countries, including South Sudan, signed a joint letter to the UNHRC defending China's treatment of Uyghurs in the Xinjiang region.

The loan agreement was signed between South Sudan and an Emirati firm owned by Hamad bin Khalifa Al Nahyan, the sources of whose wealth and investments have been suspicions during the failed takeover of Beitar Jerusalem FC.

[138] In the SPLA/M's attempt to disarm rebellions among the Shilluk and Murle, they burned scores of villages, raped hundreds of women and girls and killed an untold number of civilians.

In the run up to independence, northern negotiators reportedly pressed for a deal maintaining the 50–50 split of oil revenues, while the South Sudanese were holding out for more favourable terms.

[170] In December 2012, Tanzania officially agreed to South Sudan's bid to join the EAC, clearing the way for the world's newest state to become the regional bloc's sixth member.

At the 14th Ordinary Summit held in Nairobi in 2012, EAC heads of state approved the verification report that was presented by the Council of Ministers, then directed it to start the negotiation process with South Sudan.

[244] In 2007, the United Nations OCHA (under the leadership of Éliane Duthoit) decreased its involvement in Southern Sudan, as humanitarian needs gradually diminished, slowly but markedly turning over control to the recovery and development activities of NGOs and community-based organisations.

Although the common languages spoken are Juba Arabic and English, Swahili might be introduced to the population to improve the country's relations with its East African neighbours.

[255] Jal, a former child soldier turned musician, received good airplay and album reviews in the UK[256] and has also been sought out for the lecture circuit with major talks at popular talkfests like TED.

[257] While former Information Minister Barnaba Marial Benjamin vowed that South Sudan will respect freedom of the press and allow journalists unrestricted access in the country, the chief editor of Juba newspaper The Citizen claimed that in the absence of a formal media law in the fledgling republic, he and his staff have faced abuse at the hands of security forces.

[260] On 1 November 2011, South Sudan's National Security Services (NSS) arrested the editor of a private Juba-based daily, Destiny, and suspended its activities indefinitely.

This was in response to an opinion article by columnist Dengdit Ayok, entitled "Let Me Say So", which criticized the president for allowing his daughter to marry an Ethiopian national, and accused him of "staining his patriotism".

An official letter accused the newspaper of breaking "the media code of conduct and professional ethics", and of publishing "illicit news" that was defamatory, inciting, and invading the privacy of personalities.

[266] The same month, President Salva Kiir said the millions of civilians fleeing South Sudan were being driven by the propaganda from social media users conspiring against his government.

[267] Just a month prior in July 2017, access to major news websites and popular blogs including Sudan Tribune and Radio Tamazuj[268] had been blocked by the government without formal notice.

Other leading international basketball players from South Sudan include Manute Bol, Kueth Duany, Deng Gai, Ater Majok, Wenyen Gabriel, and Thon Maker.