Ahmed Kodouda is Senior Program Associate for the East and Horn of Africa Program at Freedom House, a Washington, DC-based non-governmental organization that focuses on democracy and human rights. He recently returned from a trip to South Sudan.
The South Sudanese government recently decided to stop oil production in retaliation against actions taken by the Sudanese government in Khartoum. While on the surface it seems a wise decision, upon closer examination it has resulted in serious and harmful effects on the government and the South S