Attempted Coup in South Sudan Threatens Israeli Aid Group Operations
Image by Getty Images
Intense fighting amid a coup attempt in Juba, the capital of South Sudan, has forced an Israeli aid group in the country to suspend its operations and go on lockdown.
The heavy gunfire in Juba began late Sunday night; members of the Israeli group, IsraAid, reported artillery and automatic weapons fire in their vicinity.
Salva Kiir, the president of South Sudan, which became an independent country in July 2011, announced on Monday that he had successfully put down the coup attempt by soldiers loyal to former Deputy President Riek Machar, whom Kiir dismissed over the summer. The president declared a nighttime curfew in Juba.
Ophelie Namiech, IsraAid’s regional director for East and Central Africa, said the group’s operations would be suspended until stability was restored to Juba.
“I have been living in Juba for the past two years. I got to know the people of South Sudan, and their determination to reach peace and stability,” Namiech wrote in an email sent to supporters. “For the first time, I see people being scared for their lives, praying and hoping to find ways of survival.”
IsraAid runs programs in Juba focused on gender, social development and security sector reform. South Sudan and Israel have some defense and trade ties, and many South Sudanese are pro-Israel.
A message from our CEO & publisher Rachel Fishman Feddersen
I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward’s award-winning, nonprofit journalism during this critical time.
At a time when other newsrooms are closing or cutting back, the Forward has removed its paywall and invested additional resources to report on the ground from Israel and around the U.S. on the impact of the war, rising antisemitism and polarized discourse.
Readers like you make it all possible. Support our work by becoming a Forward Member and connect with our journalism and your community.
— Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO
