The German Bundeswehr airlifted 55 people out of the South Sudanese capital last Friday morning as ethnic clashes erupted. Most of those rescued were German nationals, with some French, Swiss and Dutch citizens included on the flight. The mission flew passengers from Juba to neighboring Uganda.

“The conditions in South Sudan are such that we had to take immediate emergency measures to evacuate and fly out the German nationals living there,” newly installed German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier said in a press statement.

South Sudan, the world’s newest country and a major oil producer, has been in turmoil since last weekend, when an apparent coup unleashed ethnic clashes.

These clashes are primarily between forces loyal to South Sudanese President Salva Kiir—who are devout Roman Catholics from the Dinka people—and those loyal to former Vice President Riek Machar, a Presbyterian from the Nuer ethnic group.

While religious leaders are calling for reconciliation and national unity, the UN official death toll has remained at 500 for days. Some are estimating that the real death toll from these ethnic clashes may already be in excess of 1,000.

Last July, Kiir ousted Machar and his entire cabinet. Now Machar has accused Kiir of trying to establish a Dinka dictatorship in South Sudan. According to Kiir, forces loyal to Machar initiated a coup on Saturday, December 14. The United States, Britain, Italy and Germany have been evacuating citizens since then.

The UN Security Council voted unanimously last Tuesday on a resolution to increase the number of UN military personnel in the area from 7,000 to 12,500.

As one of 60 nations with troops deployed in South Sudan, Germany has contributed 50 of the current 7,000 soldiers. The Trumpet has reported previously that the Bundeswehr has also deployed troops in North Sudan and Ethiopia. Plus, the German Navy is deployed in the coastal waters off the Horn of Africa.

It is important that we monitor the current turmoil in South Sudan to see what steps Germany will take. Germany is currently only moving to protect its citizens. Because South Sudan is a strategically-located, oil-rich, predominantly-Christian country, however, both Germany and the Vatican have deeper political motives for its stability.

As the late Trumpet columnist Ron Fraser admonished, “Watch for Germany and the Vatican, with diplomatic support from China, to work to shape events in Sudan in the months ahead. As we have witnessed in the Ivory Coast, South Sudan may well effectively become a vassal African state to the imperialist European Union, none other than the seventh and final resurrection of the Holy Roman Empire!”

To review Mr. Fraser’s in-depth analysis on why South Sudan is important to Africa’s future, read “What the Future May Hold for the World’s Newest Nation.”