Despite several peace efforts, South Sudan is yet to know peace since last December’s uprising.

It is already more than two months since the warring parties in the South Sudan conflict signed a ceasefire deal on May 10, 2014, committing to also form a government of national unity within 60 days. Even with the expiration of the deadline, President SalvaKiir and former Vice President, Dr Riek Machar, are still poles apart from agreeing on how to restore peace to their country that is barely three years old. Instead, fighting recently flared up in Bentiu and other parts of the country, once more striking a strong reminder of the challenges of restoring peace in the beleaguered country.

Shaky Nationhood

South Sudanese spent decades fighting to wrest control of their territory from the authorities in Khartoum, but they were never united in the struggle. Barely two and half years after a carefully-crafted independence process from Sudan on July 9, 2011, the country is in crisis after fighting broke out in December 2013 between troops loyal to President Kiir and dissidents supporting Machar. While the government said it was a coup attempt, Machar claimed it was a mutiny in the Presidential Guards in the capital, Juba.

Distrusted Partners

In spite of the recent peace deal, the conflict in South Sudan seems to be far from over. Almost all the regional and international players that are involved in the peace process have their own agenda to pursue, and this has left the people highly vulnerable. Thus, fighting, which initially began as a tug of war for political power between President SalvaKiir and Riek Machar, eventually became a full-fledged civil war; with thousands killed and millions displaced within the country.

Enrooted Ethnic, Personality Differences 

The conflict has also helped in bringing deep-seated ethnic suspicions and rivalries to the fore. Inevitably, the war has come to be seen as a struggle for supremacy between Kiir’s Dinka people and the Nuer of Machar. As a collection of several ethnic nationalities, often with their own agenda, South Sudan cannot be said to be a nation with a common objective of where it wants to get to. Similarly, SalvaKiir and Riek Machar are fighting to retain and grab power respectively; and are therefore not really interested in any peace treaty that does not assure them of absolute political superiority.

Allure Of Oil Wealth

Also at stake in the South Sudanese conflict is the struggle for control of the country’s huge oil fields. With a good number of them still under the control of ‘intransigent rebels,’ it is difficult to see how the government of the land-locked nation can go to bed in peace without the financial wherewithal needed to continue to run the country.

Influence Of Neighbours

Ethiopia and Kenya are no longer being viewed as trustworthy players because both of them have their own regional agenda to pursue in South Sudan. Even Rwanda is an unacceptable mediator because many Rwandan troops aid and work for the UN peacekeeping mission, UNMISS, which is not the favourite entity of the government and rebels alike.Uganda, one of the memberstates of IGAD, has openly sided with Kiir’s government, thereby drawing the ire of Machar’s troops. On the other hand, Egypt, which has proposed to send in troops to help keep peace, is suspected of lobbying for Juba’s support in its water conflict with Ethiopia.