two: south sudan
As the brand-new country struggles with a second year of horrific civil war, parts of South Sudan are experiencing severe famine. This predominantly Christian nation split from predominantly Muslim Sudan in a popular referendum in 2011. But the new nation descended into internal turmoil after only a few years of independence. In December 2013, two former allies (President Salva Kiir and Vice-President Riek Machar) sparked a civil war along ethnic, religious, and political lines. A tentative, internationally-enforced peace agreement was signed in August of this year. 50,000-100,000 people have been killed, half a million are displaced, and tens of thousands of children remain at serious risk of famine.
Pray for God to reconcile South Sudan’s leaders; pray for God to embolden the Church of South Sudan to seek and pursue peace and for God to mobilize the global Church to support them; and pray for vulnerable children, civilians, and all the humanitarian workers and security personnel helping them.
For More Information:
Global Peace Index from the Institute for Economics and Peace
http://www.visionofhumanity.org/#/page/indexes/global-peace-index
Fragile States Index
http://fsi.fundforpeace.org/
Veririsk/Maplecroft
http://maplecroft.com/portfolio/mapping/maplecroft/landing/#maps_a_z
International Crisis Group