GAAFAR NIMEIRY​
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Gaafar Nimeiry was the former President of Sudan. Initially a signatory to a peace treaty ending the First Sudanese Civil War, he later imposed Sharia law in Sudan, which precipitated the Second Sudanese Civil War that lasted from 1983 until South Sudanese independence.
THE CAST
South Sudan emerged in 2011, and since then has been led by the Sudan People's Liberation Movement (SPLM). Prior to independence, it was governed as part of Sudan.
SALVA KIIR MAYARDIT
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Salva Kiir Mayardit is the current president of South Sudan. A former Vice President of Sudan, he brings experience to an administration otherwise plagued with inexperience. Nevertheless, his continued prosecution of a civil war with his previous Vice President, Riek Machar, has elevated tensions.
RIEK MACHAR
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Riek Machar is the former Vice President of South Sudan and current First Vice President. A former ally of President Mayardit, he now leads the SPLM-IO (in opposition), the main target of Mayardit's aggression.
THE SETTING
South Sudan sits along the banks of the Nile River, but no effective agreement exists to share the water of the Nile. Signing the Cooperative Framework Agreement (CFA) would alleviate tensions, but Sudan and Egypt have refused, citing their rapidly increasing water needs.
THE
EXPOSITION
Civil war, raging from 1983 to 2011, prevented successive governments from maintaining infrastructure. At its founding, South Sudan had one road out of the country and water systems completely unable to meet demand.
98%
Voted to secede
1 in 2
Water access sites are inoperable
THE
PLOT
Currently, much of the South Sudanese population uses wells, surface water, and boreholes for their water needs. Moreover, many access points for water are inoperable, and a dysfunctional political system puts the federal government in no position to repair them.
Image by BBC World Service