What has triggered deadly clashes at Uganda’s border with South Sudan?

Fighting betwixt the armies of Uganda and neighbouring South Sudan, which are longtime allies, erupted this week implicit demarcations successful disputed borderline regions, starring to the decease of astatine slightest 4 soldiers, according to authoritative reports from some sides.

Thousands of civilians person since been displaced successful affected areas arsenic radical fled to information amid the uncommon outbreak of violence.

A gunfight began connected Monday and comes arsenic South Sudan, 1 of the world’s youngest countries, is facing renewed unit owed to fracturing wrong the authorities of President Salva Kiir that has led to fighting between South Sudanese troops and a rebel equipped group.

Uganda has been pivotal successful keeping that contented contained by deploying troops to assistance Kiir’s forces. However, the latest struggle betwixt the 2 countries’ armies is raising questions regarding the authorities of that alliance.

A motortruck enters a checkpoint astatine the Elegu borderline constituent betwixt Uganda and South Sudan successful May 2020 [Sally Hayden/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images]

What has happened?

There are conflicting accounts of the events that began astatine astir 4:25pm section clip (13:25 GMT) connected Monday, making it hard to pinpoint which broadside struck first.

The 2 hold connected wherever the warring took place, but each claims the tract arsenic being successful its ain territory.

Ugandan subject spokesperson Major-General Felix Kulayigye told reporters connected Wednesday that the warring broke retired erstwhile South Sudanese soldiers crossed into Ugandan territory successful the authorities of West Nile and acceptable up campy there. The South Sudanese soldiers refused to permission aft being told to bash so, Kulayigye said, resulting successful the Ugandan broadside having “to use force”.

A Ugandan worker was killed successful the skirmish that ensued, Kulayigye added, aft which the Ugandan broadside retaliated and opened fire, sidesplitting 3 South Sudanese soldiers.

However, South Sudan subject spokesperson Major-General Lul Ruai Koang said successful a Facebook station earlier connected Tuesday that armies of the “two sisterly republics” had exchanged occurrence connected the South Sudanese side, successful the Kajo Keji County of Central Equatoria state. Both sides suffered casualties, helium said, without giving much details.

Wani Jackson Mule, a section person successful Kajo-Keji County, backed up this relationship successful a Facebook post connected Wednesday and added that Ugandan forces had launched a “surprise attack” connected South Sudanese territory. Mule said section officials had counted the bodies of 5 South Sudanese officers.

Kajo-Keji County service commandant Brigadier General Henry Buri, successful the aforesaid connection arsenic Mule, said the Ugandan forces had been “heavily equipped with tanks and artillery”, and that they had targeted a associated information unit portion stationed to support civilians, who are often attacked by transgression groups successful the area. The service wide identified the deceased men arsenic 2 South Sudanese soldiers, 2 constabulary officers and 1 situation officer.

The warring affected borderline villages and caused panic arsenic radical fled from the area, packing their belongings hurriedly connected their backs, according to residents speaking to the media. Children were mislaid successful the chaos. Photos connected societal media showed crowds gathered arsenic section priests supervised the postulation and transport of remains.

Map of Uganda and South Sudan [Al Jazeera]

What is the borderline struggle about?

Uganda and South Sudan person antecedently clashed implicit demarcations on their associated border, though those events person been fewer and acold between. As with the Monday clash, the warring is often characterised by hostility and violence. However, dense artillery fighting, which occurred connected Monday, is rare.

Problems astatine the borderline day backmost to the demarcations made during the British assemblage epoch betwixt Sudan, which South Sudan was erstwhile a portion of, and Uganda. Despite mounting up a associated demarcation committee (unknown when), the 2 countries person failed to hold connected borderline points.

In November 2010, conscionable months earlier an anticipated South Sudanese referendum connected independency from Sudan, clashes erupted aft the Ugandan authorities accused the Sudanese service of attacking Dengolo colony successful the West Nile territory of Moyo connected the Ugandan side in aggregate raids, and of arresting Ugandan villagers who were accused of crossing the borderline to chopped down timber.

A South Sudanese service spokesperson denied the allegations and suggested that the assailants could person been from the forestry commission. Uganda’s President Yoweri Museveni and South Sudan’s Kiir met a fewer days aboriginal and pledged to finalise the borderline issue, but that did not happen.

Little was reported connected the substance for respective years aft that, but successful October 2020, 2 Ugandan soldiers and 2 South Sudanese soldiers were killed erstwhile the 2 sides attacked each different successful Pogee, Magwi County of South Sudan, which connects to Gulu territory of bluish Uganda. The country includes disputed territory. Some reports claimed that 3 South Sudanese were killed. Each broadside blamed the different for starting the fight.

In September 2024, the Ugandan parliament urged the authorities to expedite the demarcation process, adding that the deficiency of wide borders was fuelling insecurity successful parts of agrarian Uganda, and Ugandan forces could not efficaciously prosecute transgression cattle rustling groups operating successful the borderline country arsenic a result.

Following the latest flare-up of unit this week, the countries person pledged to signifier a caller associated committee to analyse the clashes, South Sudan subject spokesperson, General Koang, said successful a connection connected Tuesday. The committee volition besides analyse immoderate recurring issues on the borderline successful a bid to resoluteness them, the connection read.

South Sudan’s President Salva Kiir, right, and Vice President Riek Machar, left, be a wide led by Pope Francis astatine the John Garang Mausoleum successful Juba, South Sudan, connected Sunday, February 5, 2023 [Ben Curtis/AP]

Why does Uganda supply subject enactment to South Sudan’s President Kiir?

Uganda’s Museveni has been a staunch state of South Sudan’s independency leader, Kiir, and his Sudan People’s Liberation Movement (SPLM) enactment for galore years.

Museveni supported South Sudan’s liberation warfare against Sudan, particularly pursuing alleged collusion betwixt the erstwhile Sudanese person Omar al-Bashir and the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA), a rebel radical primitively formed successful Uganda but which regularly attacks some Ugandan and South Sudanese locations successful its efforts to overthrow the Ugandan government.

South Sudan gained independency from Sudan successful January 2011. In 2013, Uganda sent troops to enactment Kiir aft a civilian warfare broke retired successful the caller country.

Fighting had erupted betwixt forces loyal to Kiir and those loyal to his longtime rival, Riek Machar, who was besides Kiir’s lawman president pre and station independence, implicit allegations that Machar was readying a coup.

Ethnic differences betwixt the 2 (Kiir is Dinka portion Machar is Nuer) besides added to the tensions. Machar fled the capital, Juba, to signifier his ain Sudan People’s Liberation Movement-in-Opposition (SPLM-IO).

The SPLM and SPLM-IO fought for 5 years earlier reaching a peace agreement successful August 2018. About 400,000 radical were killed successful the war. Uganda deployed troops to combat alongside Kiir’s SPLM, portion the United Nations peacekeeping ngo (UNMISS), which was successful spot pursuing independence, worked to support civilians.

This year, a power-sharing woody has unravelled, however, and warring has again breached retired betwixt South Sudanese forces and the White Army, a Nuer equipped radical which the authorities alleges is backed by Machar, successful Nasir County, successful the northeast of the country.

In March, Uganda again deployed peculiar forces to combat alongside Kiir’s forces arsenic fears of different civilian war mounted. Kiir ordered Machar to beryllium placed nether location apprehension and besides detained respective of his allies successful the government.

Jikany Nuer White Army fighters clasp their weapons successful Upper Nile State, South Sudan, connected February 10, 2014 during the country’s civilian warfare [File: Goran Tomasevic/Reuters]

Are determination concerns astir Uganda’s power successful South Sudan?

Some South Sudanese who enactment Vice President Machar, who is inactive nether location arrest, are opposed to Uganda’s deployment of troops successful the country, and accidental Kampala is overreaching.

Since the Monday skirmish with Ugandan troops, immoderate South Sudanese person taken to Facebook to obstruction against the service for not condemning alleged territorial violations by Ugandan soldiers, and mocked the spokesman, Koang, for describing the nations arsenic “sisterly”.

“I privation the escalation would continue,” 1 poster wrote. “The crushed wherefore South Sudan is not peaceful is due to the fact that of Uganda’s interference successful our country’s affairs.”

“What did South Sudan expect erstwhile they cheaply sold their sovereignty to Uganda?” different commenter added.

Since joining forces to combat the rebel White Army, South Sudanese forces and the Ugandan Army person been accused by Machar and section authorities successful Nasir State of utilizing chemic weapons, namely tube bombs containing a flammable liquid that they accidental has burned and killed civilians. Nicholas Haysom, caput of the UN ngo successful South Sudan, confirmed that aerial strikes had been conducted with the bombs. However, Uganda has denied these allegations. The South Sudan service has not commented.

Forces section to Machar, including the White Army, person besides been accused of targeting civilians. Dozens person died, and astatine slightest 100,000 person been displaced crossed northeastern South Sudan since March.

In May, Amnesty International said Uganda’s deployment and proviso of arms to South Sudan violated a UN arms embargo connected the country, which was portion of the 2018 bid deal, and called connected the UN Security Council to enforce the clause.