Manitoba's South Sudanese 'devastated' over violence, rallies for

CBC News

· Posted: Apr 06, 2025 9:56 AM EDT | Last Updated: 4 minutes ago

The South Sudanese assemblage stood unneurotic for a rally successful Winnipeg astatine the steps of the Manitoba legislature, holding signs and chanting implicit what they said was the deaths of their co-nationals astatine the hands of the eastbound African country's government. 

"It took america much than 25 years to get to wherever we wanted to beryllium — person an autarkic country, but seeing this happening present successful our country, it conscionable breaks our heart," said Martino Laku, 1 of astir 30 radical who gathered astatine the rally. 

Laku moved to Winnipeg successful the aboriginal 2000s, but the bulk of his household inactive lives successful South Sudan and helium fears for their information daily. 

"This is happening successful definite areas … but time could beryllium determination else," helium said. "It starts tiny and engulfs the full country." 

In aboriginal March, an airstrike by South Sudan's airforce killed astatine slightest 19 radical successful the country's east, residents said, little than 2 weeks aft authorities forces withdrew from the country pursuing warring with the White Army, an taste militia.

The state stood connected the brink of relapsing into a wide struggle successful caller weeks, according to a UN peacekeeping mission, aft the detention of First Vice President Riek Machar, accused by the country's authorities of stoking rebellion, including collaborating with the White Army.

South Sudan's civilian warfare — fought betwixt forces loyal to Machar and his rival, South Sudan's President Salva Kiir — near hundreds of thousands of radical dormant successful the eastbound African country. 

The struggle that spanned betwixt 2013 and 2018 ended with the "Constitution and the Revitalized Peace Agreement."

Machar's enactment has condemned the leader's detention arsenic a "blatant violation" that "abrogated" the agreement, arguing that it could jeopardize the imaginable for bid and stableness successful the country. 

"We are devastated," Souka Lofoni, a South Sudanese assemblage subordinate who has been surviving successful Winnipeg for the past 20 years, said astatine the rally. "They're being bombed. They've been displaced from their houses."

"Their authorities is sidesplitting its ain radical wrong its ain country, and to marque it worse, determination are overseas countries that are involved," Lofoni said.

Uganda's President Yoweri Museveni arrived successful South Sudan connected Thursday. The neighbouring country's service was invited into South Sudan past period to assistance unafraid South Sudan's superior and, during the civilian war, backed President Kiir's forces. 

"His beingness successful South Sudan endangers the bid process," Peter Jack, 1 of the rally organizers, told CBC connected Saturday.

Jack and others astatine the rally said they wanted to dispersed consciousness and bring attraction to the concern unravelling successful their location state with the intent of getting the Canadian authorities to measurement successful connected the planetary community's effect by condemning the resurgence of violence, arsenic it has with conflicts successful different countries.

"Canada should enactment the dependable to extremity the suffering successful South Sudan," Lofoni said. "Our radical person been killed and we don't spot a beardown connection that tin assistance … halt our authorities from doing this." 

Others astatine the rally said planetary enactment isn't the sole assistance needed for the state to bask peace. 

"Self-determinations … our committedness to peace, that's what's going to bring [it]," Laku said. "If the radical are truly committed and they're capable to enactment unneurotic for the improvement of the country."