Südsudan

Military tensions in South Sudan are “rapidly expanding” between Government forces and opposition militia as fighting continues in restive Jonglei state. Briefing journalists based at UN Headquarters in New York on Friday, Anita Kiki Gbeho, Officer in Charge of the UN Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS), said Jonglei has become a ‘flashpoint’ for fighting, with civilians caught in the crossfire.

South Sudan President Salva Kiir has issued a presidential order establishing a broad-based leadership body to conduct dialogue on election-related issues, bringing together parties signatory to the 2018 peace deal and other stakeholders. The order, read on state-run television on Friday night, excludes the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement in Opposition (SPLM-IO) faction led by Dr. Riek Machar and seeks to build political consensus ahead of the country’s long-delayed elections.

South Sudan’s fragile peace agreement is at a “critical crossroads”, with escalating ceasefire violations raising fears of a return to full-scale conflict and threatening preparations for elections planned for late 2026, a monitoring body said in a new report released today.

The UN Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS) is sounding the alarm over the threat of escalating violence in Jonglei state which is putting lives at risk and further weakening prospects for peace.  UNMISS expressed grave concern following reports that a senior military leader is urging troops to inflict discriminate violence against civilians, with more than 180,000 people fleeing their homes.  

The head of South Sudan's armed forces has given soldiers seven days to "crush the rebellion" in the east that is a potential threat to the capital, Juba. Recently, the Sudan People's Liberation Army in Opposition (SPLA-IO) has attacked and captured several areas in Jonglei state, a local journalist told the BBC, though this could not be independently verified. The latest fighting has threatened Jonglei's capital, Bor, three hours' drive from Juba.

South Sudan’s slide back into civil war continues apace. Opposition forces and militias aligned with them have taken up arms against government troops and made lightning advances in states such as Upper Nile and Jonglei, traditional hotbeds of ethnic Nuer opposition to President Salva Kiir.

South Sudan’s presidency has approved a series of amendments to the 2018 peace agreement, removing provisions it says block general elections next year, a move that has drawn criticism from the main opposition party and civil society groups.

South Sudan’s military has moved into the Heglig oilfield under an unprecedented agreement between the country and neighbouring Sudan’s warring parties to safeguard critical energy infrastructure from the country’s civil war.

[…] In an unusually pointed statement entitled "Time to Stop Taking Advantage of the United States," the U.S. Bureau of African Affairs accused South Sudan's government of "imposing exorbitant fees on humanitarian shipments" and "obstructing U.N. peacekeeping operations".

The humanitarian situation in South Sudan is “continually degrading,” with a sharp rise in casualties from airstrikes and ground fighting, aid agencies have told the UN. A senior official from the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) said the use of aircraft and barrel bombs had intensified, displacing hundreds of thousands.