A new privately-owned store being transported from welding shop to marketplace, where it will have a metal skin screwed on it's framework. Benitu, the capital of Unity State, has seen little benefit from all of the oil that is produced here. The 2005 peace agreement requires the Khartoum Government to give Unity State 2% of all oil revenue produced from its lands, but stopped making payments in January 2009. Private individuals investing in new shops like this is a rarity here, as most expect some kind of fighthing to errupt before the referrendum on independence can take place, in January 2011.
On 2 October 2009, 5 days before these pictures were taken, fighting broke out between factions within the SPLA (Sudanese Peoples Liberation Army) and 17 soldiers were killed, mostly from the faction that sided with the Khartoum during the civil war. Outgoing buses were filled with women and children trying to get out of town in anticipation of continuing violence, shops closed early, and evening movement around town was largely stopped.
- Filename
- STNMTZ_20091008_16443.tif
- Copyright
- ©2009 George Steinmetz
- Image Size
- 5616x3744 / 60.2MB
- Contained in galleries
- South Sudan
