The crisis in South Sudan: a game of regional chess

The crisis in South Sudan has intensified regional rivalries in the Horn of Africa, drawing in neighboring states through military intervention, refugee influxes, and proxy support. Uganda has intervened militarily to support President Salva Kiir's government to protect economic interests and political influence. Sudan, while officially supporting the government, is suspected of supporting opposition forces to weaken South Sudan and re-establish influence. Ethiopia seeks to prevent a total state collapse to avoid ethnic spillover into its Gambella region and to block Eritrean infiltration. Eritrea is alleged to be covertly supporting opposition forces to undermine Ethiopia's regional predominance and strengthen its strategic relationship with Sudan.

• Uganda intervened militarily in South Sudan to support President Salva Kiir's government, driven by the need to protect its bilateral trading relationship, the interests of Ugandans operating businesses there, and a desire to prevent a victory by opposition forces led by Riek Machar.
• Sudan's official support for the South Sudanese government may be a facade; there are concerns it is supporting opposition forces to prevent the emergence of a strong, oil-rich state allied with Uganda and to settle old scores.
• Ethiopia views the South Sudanese crisis as a direct threat due to the influx of over 90,000 refugees since December 2013, the risk of exacerbating ethnic conflict between Nuer and Anuak groups in its Gambella region, and the potential for Eritrea to use South Sudanese instability to infiltrate Ethiopian rebel groups.
• Eritrea is suspected of covertly supporting South Sudanese opposition forces to undermine Ethiopia's regional influence and the mediation efforts of the Intergovernmental Authority for Development (IGAD), which it views as an Ethiopian tool.

APA

Mesfin, B. (n.d.). The crisis in South Sudan: a game of regional chess. Institute for Security Studies. https://issafrica.org/iss-today/the-crisis-in-south-sudan-a-game-of-regional-chess

Chicago

Mesfin, Berouk. The crisis in South Sudan: a game of regional chess. Institute for Security Studies, n.d. https://issafrica.org/iss-today/the-crisis-in-south-sudan-a-game-of-regional-chess.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Mesfin |first1=Berouk |title=The crisis in South Sudan: a game of regional chess |publisher=Institute for Security Studies |url=https://issafrica.org/iss-today/the-crisis-in-south-sudan-a-game-of-regional-chess |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{mesfinndcrisis, author = {Mesfin, Berouk}, title = {{The crisis in South Sudan: a game of regional chess}}, institution = {Institute for Security Studies}, url = {https://issafrica.org/iss-today/the-crisis-in-south-sudan-a-game-of-regional-chess}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }