Clock ticking for starving children in Sudan

South Sudan is the world’s newest nation state, but internal conflict is pushing it to the brink of disaster, says Joe Cahalan

THIS was to be the first generation to grow up without war.

It was just two and a half years ago that 99% of South Sudanese voted for independence, ending decades of conflict and ushering in a new chapter as an autonomous nation. In the past few months, the unity and optimism that was so palpable in 2011 has all but vanished. What started as a political struggle between president Salva Kiir and his former vice-president, Riek Machar, has spiralled into widespread violence that has killed thousands and threatens to tear the fledgling country apart.