South Sudan, the world’s youngest nation, is once again standing on the precipice of chaos. A damning new report by The Sentry, an investigative watchdog group, and a stark warning from the United Nations reveal a country crippled by corruption, political dysfunction, and a deepening humanitarian crisis that threatens to ignite a new cycle of violence.

The Sentry’s latest investigation, released on October 15, paints a devastating picture of a government consumed by graft and greed. The report accuses South Sudan’s political elite of systematically looting public resources through “off-budget schemes, single-source contracts, and manipulation of public procurement processes.” According to the group, such corruption has become institutionalized, driving conflict and entrenching political instability across the country.

“This creates a zero-sum competition for power marked by the mobilization of ethnicities and the creation of various militia groups,” The Sentry said in a statement to the Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project (OCCRP). “The diversion of public funds has left citizens without basic services and fueled local conflicts.”

The findings underscore how entrenched corruption is not merely a moral issue-it is a direct cause of violence. In a system where power and wealth are concentrated among a small elite, political and ethnic factions compete brutally for control of the state’s dwindling resources. This has left the vast majority of South Sudan’s 12 million citizens impoverished, displaced, and disillusioned.

The UN Commission on Human Rights in South Sudan echoed The Sentry’s concerns, warning that the ruling elite has “deliberately........

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