Attacks on the Press

2. From Fledgling 
to Failed

By Jacey Fortin

South Sudanese government soldiers stand in trenches in Malakal in October 2016. The army flew in journalists to show that they retain control of the city, which has been reduced to rubble and almost entirely deserted by civilians.

(AP/Justin Lynch)

Juba, South Sudan—The shooting began around 5:15 on a Friday afternoon.

Dozens of journalists had gathered in the pressroom at the Presidential Palace—a walled compound also known as “J1”—in the capital city. Following a few days of rising tensions, culminating in a checkpoint shoot-out just the night before, the president, Salva Kiir, and the vice ...