A look back at key political, military and humanitarian events in South Sudan over the last year:
25 January: Armed elements launch attacks against a government convoy in Raja county, killing five journalists
15-16 February: Major General Johnson Olony, a commander on the government side, is accused of forcibly recruiting dozens of children in the village of Wau Shilluk in Upper Nile state amid clashes with rebels in Manyo county to the north. Over 1000 men and boys were said to be recruited over the course of several days.
5 March: The IGAD led Addis Ababa peace process collapses after President Kiir showed up days late to the talks. This ends for the time being more than a year of on and off negotiations. Government forces immediately launch attacks against rebels in Manyo county of Upper Nile state and elsewhere. An African Union draft report, leaked after the peace process fell apart, recommends barring Kiir, Machar, and the entire SPLM leadership from any future South Sudan government.
18 March: Kiir makes a defiant speech in Juba, vowing not to surrender and challenging the international community to sanction him for his actions.
24 March: South Sudan’s parliament amends the country’s constitution to extend Kiir’s term in office for an additional three years. They also extend their own terms for three more years. However, the vote does not follow proper parliamentary procedure.
9 April: Amid rising tension between indigenous Western Equatoria farmers and armed Dinka cattle keepers allied with SPLA who have settled in the state, Kiir orders cattle keepers to leave the Equatoria region. His own cows leave Central Equatoria.
22 April: Johnson Olony’s forces clash with troops of the Upper Nile governor in Malakal town of Upper Nile, killing dozens. Control of the town goes back and forth between the two sides, though Olony insists he remains loyal to the government. Olony eventually withdraws to the west bank.
27 April: After building up arms and ammunition for months, government forces launch a massive campaign through southern Unity state. First the troops sweep through Rubkona and Guit counties, burning thousands of homes. By mid-May, government forces penetrate Koch and Leer counties from the north, while troops sent from Lakes state attack Panyijar and Mayendit from the south. Tens of thousands pour into the United Nations base in Bentiu for safety.
Mid-May: Johnson Olony and the Agwelek Forces under his command defect to the rebel side and launch an offensive in Upper Nile state aimed at the oil fields of Paloich. By 20 May, his forces capture Melut town, the gateway to the oil fields. Within days, however, government forces assisted with attack helicopters repulse Olony’s troops back to the west bank with the oil fields unscathed.
Mid-May: Questions are raised about the security of the UN ‘Protection’ site in Bentiu after incidents in which SPLA soldiers penetrated the perimeter.
Late May: South Sudan’s government kicks out high ranking UN official Toby Lanzer after statements about the potential collapse of the country’s economy.
7 June: A grenade tossed in an SPLA cattle camp leads to shooting in Maridi town which leaves at least nine people dead.
23 June: Former SPLM secretary general Pagan Amum, the head of the former detainees group accused by Kiir of attempting a coup at the start of the war, returns to Juba and takes back his former position.
24 June: A watchdog group predicts pockets of famine in southern Unity amid violence apparently aimed at starving civilians from rebel areas of the state.
Late June: Government forces dislodge rebels from their base in Panakuach in northern Unity state, and claim victory over the insurgency in the state.
June-July: Reports emerge detailing the extent of the brutality of the government’s southern Unity campaign, which is said to include war crimes. Human rights investigators say government-allied troops massacred 129 children, at times castrated and left to bleed to death, while women and girls were raped and thrown into burning huts. Hundreds of women were reported raped, villages torched, and food stocks destroyed.
1 July: The UN security council slaps travel bans and asset freezes on six South Sudanese generals, three on each side of the conflict.
Mid-July: The population of the Bentiu UN base in Unity state passes 100,000 as tens of thousands pour in fleeing the government’s southern Unity campaign.
27 July: Government forces attack the village of Dablual in Mayendit county of Unity state, killing civilians and stealing food.
31 July to 1 August: A series of tit-for-tat killings in Yambio county of Western Equatoria state involving locals and SPLA Commando Units stationed in the area leads to clashes in Yambio town which leave at least four people dead.
Late July – late August: The SPLA orders a halt to all river traffic in Upper Nile including food barges. The blockade cuts off thousands of civilians from vital food aid, leading to accusations that the government is trying to starve out civilians in rebel areas.
12 August: Senior SPLM/A-IO commander Peter Gatdet breaks ranks with rebel leader Machar, saying they do not support a peace deal with Kiir.
August: Chaotic violence rages through southern Unity as militias continue to attack villages, killing civilians, abducting women and girls, and stealing cattle.
16 August: Kiir fires two outspoken Equatorian governors, then arrests one of them: Western Equatorian leader Joseph Bangasi Bakosoro. The governors of Warrap and Upper Nile states also lose their jobs.
17 August: Rebel leader Riek Machar signs a Compromise Peace Agreement in Addis Ababa, but Kiir refuses to sign. IGAD gives him two weeks to sign.
19 August: A young journalist is murdered in South Sudan’s capital Juba. In the same month, newspapers and radio programs are shut down while opposition leaders are detained.
26 August: Kiir signs the Compromise Peace Agreement under heavy international pressure, but submits 12 pages of reservations to the deal.
Late August – September: Sporadic fighting continues in parts of Unity State and Upper Nile.
12 September: Clashes break out in Maridi town, killing at least seven people and causing residents to flee.
16 September: An overturned fuel tanker explodes in Maridi county of Western Equatoria state, killing over 200 people.
16 September: UN Security Council decides not impose an arms embargo on South Sudan.
17 September: More clashes break out between SPLA and local armed groups in Mundri in Western Equatoria state.
Late September-Early October: After an ambush in Wonduruba in Central Equatoria, SPLA forces attack civilians, forcing thousands to flee.
2 October: Kiir announces an order to split South Sudan’s ten states into 28 smaller states. The move would cut out the Nuer tribe from key oil producing areas. The order eventually goes to parliament as a constitutional amendment. Parliament is unable to muster the 2/3 majority to pass it into law.
4 October: Rebels launch twin attacks on Koch and Leer towns in Unity state, briefly taking both towns in bloody battles that kill dozens. Within days, government troops take back both localities. Over the course of the month, over 80 civilians are killed in government reprisal attacks across Leer county.
4 October: Local armed groups attack an SPLA military garrison in Mundri West. SPLA loses control of part of the town and the civilian population flees to the forest amid violence.
16 October: Kiir dissolves SPLM leadership structures except himself.
26 October – 1 November: Troops under command of rebel general Johnson Olony capture three UN barges at Kaka, accusing the UN of assisting the government. After offloading the barges’ fuel cargo, 31 UN personnel are released unharmed.
26 October: Machar’s side assents to a security arrangements agreement which limits the number of armed personnel in Juba to under 5000.
27 October: After nearly a year of delay, the African Union Commission of Inquiry on South Sudan releases its final report into the first half of the South Sudan civil war. The Commission finds no evidence for any coup attempt by Machar, rejecting the government’s narrative for how the war began. Instead, the Commission says the war broke out after an irregular Dinka force carried out state-led mass killings of Nuer in Juba following a fight in a barracks. The commission finds both sides committed war crimes during the conflict.
Early November: Clashes between local armed groups and government break out in Tombura and Ezo counties of Western Equatoria state, causing thousands of civilians to flee to neighboring countries. Church groups attempt to calm the situation.
23 November: The SPLA redeploys 250 troops 25 km outside of Juba as part of the process of demilitarizing the capital city. However, thousands of troops remain as the government says it doesn’t have the resources to build barracks outside the capital.
26 November: The three-month pre-transitional period passes without implementation of the peace deal’s terms; no transitional government is formed, and the rebels have not returned to Juba.
26 November: Festus Mogae, head of the Joint Monitoring and Evaluation Commission which is meant to oversee implementation of the peace deal, arrives in Juba to hold the commission’s first meeting. The meeting goes ahead as planned despite the rebels not showing up.
27 November: Rebecca Nyandeng, widow of late SPLM leader John Garang de Mabior, returns to Juba after nearly two years in exile.
4 December: Two representatives of the SPLM/A-IO rebels arrive in Juba to meet with government officials.
5 December: Government troops launch attacks outside of Wau town in Western Bahr el Ghazal state.
7-8 December: Rebels and government clash again in Yambio town of Western Equatoria state.
15 December: South Sudan marks two years of war
File photo: Policemen carry an elderly woman in the abandoned village of Katigiri during a state government assessment visit, September 2015