South Sudan celebrates 10 years of independence – but few rejoice

A decade after becoming world’s youngest nation, South Sudan is mired in instability, faced with humanitarian crisis.

Friday marks 10 years since South Sudan gained independence to become the world’s youngest nation – yet few citizens are rejoicing. Over the past 10 years, the oil-rich country has been mired in fighting that killed nearly 400,000 people, engrained corruption and a deteriorating humanitarian crisis, while a fragile peace deal hangs by a thread. “After 10 years of independence, South Sudan’s population doesn’t have much to celebrate,” said Joshua Craze, a research fellow at the London School for Economics who has worked in South Sudan since 2008. “Those hopeful expectations of life in the new state have only delivered for South Sudan’s elite, which has entrenched itself atop the rest of the country,” he added.