South Sudan has been snubbing pressing issues at its borders while busy warring with itself.
The communities bordering all borders of South Sudan have been constantly reporting complains and the gradual lost of land to the neighboring countries.
South Sudan is a landlocked country and borders – clockwise – Sudan from the north, Ethiopia from the east, Kenya, Uganda and the Democratic Republic of the Congo from the south and the Central African Republic from the west.
According to the Wikipedia, the total land borders (bordering length) is as follow:
- Sudan (1,937 km)
- Central African Republic (682 km)
- Ethiopia (883 km)
- Kenya (232 km)
- Uganda (435 km)
- Democratic Republic of Congo (628 km)
Elemi Triangle is also a disputed area. The land was initially disputed by South Sudan, Ethiopia and Kenya but the Ethiopian government withdrew its interest saying the land belongs to Sudan (which is after succession became part of the South)
A part from the visible disputed Abyei which is a pure South Sudan land, South Sudan is already at a situation where it is likely to lose its borders with time. The cases are many.
A couple months ago, the Chairman of Sovereign Council of the Sudan, Abdel Fattah Al-Burhan who is also an army general has threatened to take all disputed lands with South Sudan which is an indication of forthcoming border conflict.
On receiving the news, J1 downplayed the soreness of such utterances by the general.
Two days ago, South Sudan lost more than 10 soldiers (SSPDF) in a short border gun fight with Ugandan People Defence Force (UPDF) but the army reported 2 dead and a few injuries.
With the current handling of such matters, South Sudan is likely to pay a heavy price in the near future.