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State Assets: Prize Control and Kleptocratic Networks

state assets: The report says it has obtained images of officials' family members jet-setting and partying in five-star hotels, as well as documentation of their properties abroad, according to Metro News. Officials in South Sudan who earn modest salaries have been able to amass fortunes with help from arms dealers, bankers, lawyers and others abroad, it said."The key catalyst of South Sudan civil war has been competition for the grand prize — control over state assets and the country abundant natural resources — between rival kleptocratic networks led by President Kiir and Vice-President Machar," the report says."The leaders of South Sudan warring parties manipulate and exploit ethnic divisions in order to drum up support for a conflict that serves the interests only of the top leaders of these two kleptocratic networks and, ultimately, the international facilitators whose services the networks utilize and on which they rely."South Sudan, which gained independence from Sudan in 2011, plunged into conflict soon after Kiir fired Machar from his post as vice-president in 2013. South Sudan President Salva Kiir, former deputy Riek Machar and those close to both men have looted the country in accumulating wealth that includes mansions, luxury cars and stakes in a number of businesses abroad, according to the report by The Sentry. A peace deal reached a year ago under international pressure has been violated repeatedly by fighting, and Machar fled the country in recent weeks. The report says the country leaders, including some military generals, have much of their wealth in the form of high-end properties in neighbouring countries such as Uganda and Kenya. The report by The Sentry, which was co-founded by actor George Clooney, says that in 2015 it began "to follow the money that has been and continues to be amassed" by networks loyal to either Kiir or Machar. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.