Thread by @Jack_Mrgln

It's been 10 years since South Sudan won its independence. Corruption by the ruling elite and transnational illicit flows have denied the country both peace and prosperity.

THREAD on @C4ADS' work to illuminate the networks behind violence & corruption in South Sudan.

Last year, we launched conflict.id, a project to catalog imagery of weapons and vehicles used by warring parties in South Sudan prior to the UN embargo. It provides a window into the origins of weapons sustaining the conflict, and a baseline for conflict researchers.

This includes everything from analysis of weapons like NORINCO CQ rifles contributed by @CalibreObscura to MRAPs and other armored vehicles used by the SSPDF and non-state armed groups.

In 2019, we released MONEY TREE. @_stella_cooper and Cecile Neumeister used trade data, corporate records, and more to explore how domestic and foreign political elites profit from South Sudan's illicit teak market to the detriment of local communities. c4ads.org/reports

Also in 2019, we published IMPORTED WAR, an investigation by @_stella_cooper and @IsaacZukin into how South Sudan imported Russian-made amphibious vehicles via Kenya.
c4ads.org/blogposts/2019…

The man behind these shipments was 'Al Cardinal', a businessman recently sanctioned by the UK gov't.

thesentry.org/2021/04/26/582…

We continue to work on South Sudan, monitoring arms embargo violations, transnational illicit trade, and domestic corruption.

I am still optimistic about the future of South Sudan — it has a new generation of bright, ambitious citizens who expect more of their leaders.

But for that future to be realized, global vulnerabilities to illicit finance, illicit natural resource extraction, and conflict finance must be closed. Accountability must be realized. South Sudan's level of corruption can only occur in a global system that permits it.