South Sudan crisis rooted in rivalry between Kiir, Machar

They were an unlikely pair to lead the world’s newest nation — from different tribal groups and different regions, having taken vastly different paths to power. President Salva Kiir, a field commander with little formal education, was known for his black ­cowboy hat. His vice president, Riek Machar, had earned a doctorate in Britain and preferred Western suits.

The men are at the centre of what could be the unraveling of this fragile African country into full-blown civil war, two-and-a-half years after it became an independent nation backed by the United States and its allies.