Roughly $110 million in aid planned for South Sudan in 2018 could be in jeopardy unless the country finds a way to end its civil war and restore peace.
White House Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders said the U.S. will begin reviewing its assistance to the East African nation to ensure the money does not contribute to or prolong the conflict, or enable predatory or corrupt behavior.
“The United States Government will not continue in a partnership with leaders who are only interested in perpetuating an endless war characterized by ethnically motivated atrocities,” Sanders said.
The U.S. has given South Sudan more than $3.2 billion in humanitarian assistance since the start of the civil war in 2013. It is currently South Sudan’s largest donor. Losing any of that money would greatly threaten efforts to provide medicine, food and other supplies to millions of malnourished refugees in the region.
The war, which has killed tens of thousands of people has also created Africa’s largest refugee crisis in years. More than 2 million people have fled South Sudan in what some say is Africa’s largest refugee crisis since the Rwandan genocide of 1994.
The most recent attempt at a cease-fire took effect in December but was violated within hours. Human rights groups have long accused officials in the government of President Salva Kiir of profiting off the conflict and blocking the path to peace. But on Monday, Kiir reached out to rebel leader Riek Machar in an apparent effort to end the conflict.
Kiir asked members of the ruling SPLM party to forgive Machar and said he would guarantee Machar’s safety and protection as a citizen of the country and that the exiled leader could return and safely live in the capital, Juba.
