Overview: At the end of 2013, fighting broke out between rival political factions in South Sudan, resulting in the death of thousands and displacement of hundreds of thousands of people. Prior to the crisis, South Sudan expressed a commitment to countering terrorism, but suffered from multiple institutional weaknesses that impeded any counterterrorism efforts. The Lord's Resistance Army (LRA) remained a threat for communities in Western Equatoria and Western Bahr-el-Ghazal states, and new LRA attacks were reported in late 2013. South Sudan contributed to the AU Regional Task Force (AU-RTF) against the LRA, but many of its forces were redeployed at the end of 2013 in response to the political crisis.

Legislation, Law Enforcement, and Border Security: While dealing with multiple crises, South Sudan continued to have limited capacity to provide effective law enforcement and border security with respect to counterterrorism. Additionally, the border with Sudan remained disputed in several locations.

Countering the Financing of Terrorism: South Sudan is not a member of a Financial Action Task Force-style regional body. In August, South Sudan passed anti-money laundering/combating the financing of terrorism legislation. The country's capabilities to implement or enforce the law remained limited. For further information on money laundering and financial crimes, we refer you to the 2014 International Narcotics Control Strategy Report (INCSR), Volume 2, Money Laundering and Financial Crimes: http://www.state.gov/j/inl/rls/nrcrpt/index.htm.

Regional and International Cooperation: South Sudan is a member of the UN, the AU, the Intergovernmental Authority on Development, Interpol, and the Eastern Africa Police Chiefs Cooperation Organization, a sub-regional organization of Interpol. South Sudan participated in the AU-RTF, a joint military task force to counter the LRA threat that includes forces from Uganda and the Democratic Republic of Congo. South Sudan is a member of the Partnership for Regional East Africa Counterterrorism.

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