UN: In South Sudan, tens of thousands have died in 1 year

(Image credit: Paula Bronstein/Getty Images)

last updated 10 January 2015

War broke out in South Sudan one year ago, and since then, the United Nations estimates, tens of thousands of people have died and more than 1.9 million have been displaced.

"The people of South Sudan are living in a tinderbox, with emotions high, an abundant flow of weapons, and with both sides recruiting fighters, often forcefully and including children," said Zeid Ra'ad Al Hussein, the U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights.

The fighting started in the capital, Juba, and moved through the country. Supporters of President Salva Kiir, an ethnic Dinka, are at odds with those siding with former Vice President Riek Machar, an ethnic Nuer, The Associated Press reports. It is a "man-made political, security, and humanitarian catastrophe," the U.N. Security Council said; U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-moon wants leaders to agree to a power-sharing arrangement.

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Catherine Garcia has worked as a senior writer at The Week since 2014. Her writing and reporting have appeared in Entertainment Weekly, The New York Times, Wirecutter, NBC News and "The Book of Jezebel," among others. She's a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.