South Sudan is the highest riser in this year’s global ranking Peoples under Threat, indicating that the risk of further ethnic killings in the country remains critical.
South Sudan occupies position number eight in a 70-country table led by Somalia, Sudan and Afghanistan.The ranking is elaborated by MRG, the UK-based Minority Rights Group.
MRG says South Sudan is part of the top ten countries in Peoples under Threat ranking due to a history of cattle raiding between the Lou Nuer and the Murle, as well as other groups, that has developed into inter-communal violence on a highly organised scale in Jonglei state.
MRG’s Executive Director Mark Lattimer said the attacks in South Sudan, though often labelled revenge cattle raids, have deeper causes related to poverty, the ubiquity of small arms and marginalization of ethnic minorities.
Peoples under Threat index, an early warning tool, shows that risk levels of mass killings are also critical in other African, including Somalia, Sudan, DR Congo and Ethiopia.