In the early hours of the morning of 24 May 2013, a group of South Sudanese vigilantes attacked the town of Obo in the Central African Republic (CAR), having covered the distance of 100 km from the South Sudan/CAR border to Obo on foot. An unprovoked international attack in violation of CAR’s sovereignty could be interpreted as an act of aggression under international law. At the least, one would expect subsequent diplomatic frostiness between the two countries. This attack, however, neither achieved the status of an international incident, nor did it lead to repercussions. Instead, what happened is remembered only as narratives – narratives about the attack and the motivations that drove a few dozen assailants to march on a foreign town. How events unfolded became subject to wild interpretation and mostly locally- anchored forms of meaning making.
08 October 2026
The CSRF will go on hiatus as feedback on a funding proposal for continued operations is pending. Normal operations continue until 31 October 2026. Please continue to use the resources on the website, which will be maintained into 2027 regardless of the funding situation. We ask for your understanding as new outputs, trainings, and events go on pause, or if queries go unanswered, from October onwards.
