South Sudan government cancels Independence Day celebrations for second consecutive year
The South Sudanse government has cancelled official Independence Day celebrations for the second year running over financial issues.
Juba says funds that would have been used for festivities will instead go towards providing much-needed services.
The unity government says the current violence and economic crisis don’t warrant celebrations, and as a result, the July 9th celebrations will not be held.
The world’s youngest nation gained independence from Sudan on 9 July 2011, following a 2005 agreement that ended Africa’s longest-running civil war.
The country however slumped into war in December 2013 after President Salva Kiir accused his then-deputy Riek Machar of plotting a coup against his government. Machar denied the allegations but then went on to mobilize a rebel force to fight the government.
A peace deal signed in 2015 has continually been violated by the warring factions.
The war has killed thousands and displaced millions, prompting the United Nations to rank South Sudan as Africa’s biggest refugee crisis, and the third worldwide after Syria and Afghanistan.
