Südsudan

Violence against civilians in South Sudan is escalating to record levels, a new report by the United Nations Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS) has said. The report documented 1,607 victims in the first quarter of this year, the highest number in any three-month period since 2020.

After a 10-day absence that prompted concerns about his health, South Sudanese President Salva Kiir Mayardit has returned to the country. The 73-year-old arrived from the United Arab Emirates with several government officials but did not speak to the public.

The European Union (EU) has allocated 11 million Euros to UNHCR and the International Organization for Migration (IOM) to support long-term recovery and stability for communities in South Sudan affected by the Sudan conflict and resulting displacement. Since fighting broke out in Sudan in April 2023, over 1.1 million people have fled to South Sudan, placing heavy strain on already limited infrastructure and essential services.

As Crisis Group warned in March, South Sudan is in a state of political turmoil as President Salva Kiir reshapes his administration and dismantles the 2018 peace deal that ended the last civil war. His actions seem designed to eliminate possible rivals to Vice President Benjamin Bol Mel, a protegé he has elevated rapidly as a potential successor. 

[…] If current trends of intensifying violence, political fragmentation, and retaliatory attacks continue, the conflict in South Sudan is also likely to expand beyond Upper Nile into other high-risk areas such as Unity, Jonglei, and possibly the capital, Juba, in the next three months. 

South Sudan’s crude oil exports through Port Sudan, the army’s de facto wartime capital on the Red Sea, have resumed weeks after drone attacks targeted key facilities, officials confirmed Tuesday.

Since a sharp escalation in fighting in South Sudan in late February, 165,000 people have fled their homes, seeking safety either within the country or across borders, the UN refugee agency UNHCR said on Tuesday. Violence between armed groups in Upper Nile state and other flashpoints has crippled essential services, triggered food insecurity and worsened disease outbreaks, including cholera – forcing some to be displaced repeatedly.

The Security Council today extended for one year the sanctions regime it has imposed on South Sudan, which includes asset freezes, travel bans and an arms embargo — even as some speakers expressed concern that the African position on this issue is being ignored and sanctions are getting misused as a tool for coercion. Resolution 2781 (2025) … was adopted by a recorded vote of 9 votes in favour (Denmark, Greece, Guyana, France, Panama, Republic of Korea, Slovenia, United Kingdom, United States) to none against, with 6 abstentions (Algeria, China, Russian Federation, Pakistan, Somalia and Sierra Leone).

[…] The impact of the Sudanese war on South Sudan, however, isn’t a straightforward spillover catastrophe. The picture is more nuanced, and this is most clearly seen in South Sudan’s oil economy. 

UN rights chief calls on South Sudan’s warring parties to end renewed fighting
The UN on Friday warned of further deterioration in the human rights situation in South Sudan amid an uptick in hostilities, arbitrary arrests and hate speech since February. … Escalating hostilities “portend a real risk of further exacerbating the already dire human rights and humanitarian situation,” said Volker Türk, head of the UN human rights office (OHCHR), urging all parties to the conflict to “urgently pull back from the brink.”