Ten days before Christmas 2013 a civil war started in the new nation of South Sudan. The events leading up to this are still murky, but have their roots in long-established hostility between the Dinka and Nuer tribes. President Salva Kiir Mayardit claims he acted to prevent a coup plotted by then Vice President Riek Machar but Machar continues to deny this and in turn accuses Kiir of targeting the Nuer out of paranoia and vindictiveness.