Saving South Sudan - Part 1
Late last year, South Sudan's president, Salva Kiir, accused his former vice president, Riek Machar, of attempting a coup d'état amid accusations of rampant corruption within the government. Infighting immediately broke out within the presidential guard, sparking what has now become a brutal tribal and civil war that has pitted Machar’s ethnic Nuer loyalists against the majority Dinka, who have sided with Kiir. Machar narrowly escaped assassination, fleeing to the deep bush as Kiir’s troops razed his home and killed his bodyguards. And now the world’s newest sovereign nation is in imminent danger of becoming a failed state.
In February, journalists and filmmakers Robert Young Pelton and Tim Freccia set out on a grueling mission to locate Machar in his secret hideout in Akobo and get his side of the story. Accompanying was Machot Lat Thiep, a former child soldier and Lost Boy who had advised on South Sudan’s constitution and now works as a manager of a Costco in Seattle. Machot acted as a guide of sorts, arranging Pelton and Freccia’s rendezvous with Machar through a series of endless satellite-phone calls to old contacts and rebel platoons, who would eventually guide the group to the deposed vice president.
After spending a couple days with Machar, he granted Pelton and Freccia unprecedented access to the front lines of a battle in Malakal, where for the first time in history the pair documented the heretofore mythical White Army as they looted, murdered, and pillaged their way to some twisted interpretation of “victory.”
Saving South Sudan is a multi-platform exploration of the horrors of the country’s newest civil war. We devoted an entire issue of the magazine to Robert Young Pelton and Tim Freccia's sprawling 35,000-plus word epic exploration of the crisis in South Sudan. It's a companion piece of sorts; watch the documentary and read the issue or vice versa. But you won't get a full scope of the situation without doing both.
More From VICE Reports
-
VICE Reports: Dog Days of Yulin
Southern China has always had a tradition of dining on dogs—people from other parts of the country even joke that Southerners will eat anything with legs but the dinner table. Since the 1990s the town of Yulin has maintained the unique tradition of holding a canine banquet every summer.
-
VICE Reports: The Return of the Black Death
We went to Madagascar in the fall of 2013 because the village of Beranimbo had been an epicenter of a black plague outbreak that resulted in nearly 600 cases and more than 90 deaths across the country. Madagascar reports the most instances of the disease in the world.
-
VICE Reports: Europe's Most Notorious Jewel Thieves
The Pink Panther gang—hailing from former Yugoslavia—has stolen more than $350 million worth of jewelry in the past 15 years, according to Interpol. We embed inside the Pink Panthers to learn their history and see how the world's best robbers train new recruits.
-
VICE Reports: Season Two - Trailer
There's a lot of wild, crazy, and terrifying stuff out there in the world, and the second season of VICE Reports will take you to the front lines to see the faces of those directly involved—from European jewel thieves to victims of the Black Plague in Madagascar.
-
VICE Reports: Australia's Biker Club Crisis
It's now tougher than ever to be a biker in Australia (or "bikie," as they're called Down Under).
-
VICE Reports: Saving South Sudan - Trailer
Late last year, South Sudan's president, Salva Kiir, accused his former vice president, Riek Machar, of attempting a coup d'état. In February, journalists and filmmakers Robert Young Pelton and Tim Freccia set out on a grueling mission to locate Machar in his secret hideout in Akobo and get his side of the story.
-
VICE Reports: Snake Island
The highest concentration of one of the most venomous snakes in the world is located about 90 miles off the coast of Santos, Brazil, on a small, craggy chunk of otherwise uninhabitable land. It’s known as Ilha da Queimada Grande, or Snake Island.
-
VICE Reports: Snake Island - Trailer
The highest concentration of one of the most venomous snakes in the world is located about 90 miles off the coast of Santos, Brazil, on a small, craggy chunk of otherwise uninhabitable land. It’s known as Ilha da Queimada Grande, or Snake Island.
-
VICE Reports: Immigrants Are Walking Hundreds of Miles fr...
Immigrants who have arrived in Greece from the Middle East are making the long trek to Western Europe by foot in order to seek a richer, happier life.
-
VICE Reports: Buttloads of Pain - Trailer
As you know from reading this beautiful piece of reporting, illegal butt enhancements may be America’s next health epidemic. Our full-length documentary on toxic asses in Miami will air next week on VICE.com. Until then, please enjoy this trailer.
More News
-
VICE News: Hong Kong Rising
VICE News traveled to Hong Kong and embedded with the students leading the pro-democracy movement.
-
VICE News: VICE News Capsule
The VICE News Capsule is a news roundup that looks beyond the headlines. This week, Spanish border police are accused of excessive force against migrants in Melilla, and Kosovo rescues a boy whose father took him to Syria.
-
VICE News: The High Cost of Cheap Clothes
Cambodian authorities are pushing former sex workers into a trade where conditions and pay are even worse: making clothing for Western brands.
-
VICE News: Talking Heads: China Strikes Back
VICE News sat down with Orville Schell to discuss how the US might benefit from better understanding the "Chinese Dream."
-
VICE News: Turkey's Border War
VICE News traveled to the Turkish side of the Syrian border as US airstrikes hit Islamic State positions in the town of Kobane.
-
VICE News: VICE News Capsule
India and Pakistan clash in Kashmir, a St. Louis police officer shoots and kills 18-year-old; a source says Kim Jong Un still in control, and Deadly suicide bombs strike Yemen.
-
VICE News: The Donetsk People's Republic
VICE News follows the chaotic birth of the DPR as it tries to forge a path to independence and closer ties to Russia.
-
VICE News: Fortress Italia
How is Italy dealing with the massive influx of migrants who are making the perilous—and sometimes deadly—journey across the Mediterranean from Africa's northern coast?
-
VICE News: VICE News Capsule
This week: walruses, Benjamin Netanyahu's visit to the US, South Africa's rejection of the Dalai Lama's visa application, and more bad news from around the world.
-
VICE News: Fight for the Forest
Deep in the formerly tranquil Forest of Sivens in the south of France, militant eco-activists and French riot police are fighting a violent battle in woodlands being cut down to make way for a dam.
More From This Show
-
Dog Days of Yulin
Southern China has always had a tradition of dining on dogs—people from other parts of the country even joke that Southerners will eat anything with legs but the dinner table. Since the 1990s the town of Yulin has maintained the unique tradition of holding a canine banquet every summer.
-
The Return of the Black Death
We went to Madagascar in the fall of 2013 because the village of Beranimbo had been an epicenter of a black plague outbreak that resulted in nearly 600 cases and more than 90 deaths across the country. Madagascar reports the most instances of the disease in the world.
-
Europe's Most Notorious Jewel Thieves
The Pink Panther gang—hailing from former Yugoslavia—has stolen more than $350 million worth of jewelry in the past 15 years, according to Interpol. We embed inside the Pink Panthers to learn their history and see how the world's best robbers train new recruits.
-
-
Season Two - Trailer
There's a lot of wild, crazy, and terrifying stuff out there in the world, and the second season of VICE Reports will take you to the front lines to see the faces of those directly involved—from European jewel thieves to victims of the Black Plague in Madagascar.
-
Australia's Biker Club Crisis
It's now tougher than ever to be a biker in Australia (or "bikie," as they're called Down Under).
Comments