Africa
6 years ago

Women demand end to South Sudan war

JUBA: The protesters in Juba said they wanted a better future for their children.	— Al Jazeera
JUBA: The protesters in Juba said they wanted a better future for their children. — Al Jazeera

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Hundreds of women covered their mouths with tape on Saturday as they took to the streets in South Sudan's capital, Juba, to demand an end to their country's war and the suffering of its people, reports Al Jazeera.

Carrying posters and signs that read "Bring back our peace now!", "Save my future, stop the war" and "Enough of the bloodshed", women of all ages expressed their anger at a conflict now entering its fifth year.

"We, the women of South Sudan, have decided that we have had enough of this. This war has been going on for a long time," a demonstrator said after briefly removing the piece of white tape from her mouth.

"Women continue to be raped and killed; they don't have access to their homes, and there is no humanitarian access for people in need," she told Al Jazeera.

"We are tired and fed up of this, and we want our leadership to understand that this is their final chance to bring peace to this country."

South Sudan was founded with optimistic celebrations in the capital on July 9, 2011, after it gained independence from Sudan in a referendum that passed with close to 100 percent of the vote.

The country descended into conflict in December 2013 after President Salva Kiir accused Riek Machar, his former deputy who he had sacked earlier that year, of plotting a coup.

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