South Sudan

UN Human Rights Chief Volker Türk said on Tuesday he was horrified by growing accounts of serious violations during the ongoing conflict in South Sudan, including gruesome killings of civilians, the destruction and poisoning of key water sources, and fresh waves of mass displacement. … More than 280,000 people have been displaced in South Sudan since late December - in Jonglei, Lakes and Upper Nile States.

The United Nations Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS) continues to engage intensively with national, state and local stakeholders following the 6 March announcement by the South Sudan People’s Defense Forces (SSPDF) instructing civilians in Akobo town and surrounding villages to relocate ahead of planned military operations. The same report directed UN peacekeepers and humanitarian partners to leave Akobo within 72 hours.

Uganda helped South Sudan carry out airstrikes that killed and badly burned civilians a year ago, according to a UN inquiry. 

The number of people killed in an attack in South Sudan on Sunday when a group of unidentified men launched an assault in the north of the country has risen to 178, a local official has told the BBC.

South Sudan was the focus of debate in the UN Human Rights Council on Friday as escalating violence and political tensions – alongside a massive humanitarian emergency and war in neighbouring Sudan – threaten efforts to achieve lasting peace.  … Mr. Türk noted that on both sides, “military discipline appears to have collapsed” in Jonglei and Eastern Equatoria state “where troops have demonstrated a near total disregard for civilian protection.” 

Renewed fighting in South Sudan’s Jonglei state has displaced hundreds of thousands of civilians in recent weeks, damaged health facilities, fuelled the spread of cholera and prompting the UN relief chief to warn of a “perfect storm” of conflict, climate shocks and deprivation. 

South Sudan’s government said Thursday that the fate of suspended First Vice President Dr. Riek Machar rests entirely with the judiciary, rejecting international calls for his release.

Interview with H.E. Pelle Enarsson, the head of the European Union (EU) Delegation to South Sudan, who assumed office in September 2025. 

Escalating violence, political stalemate and humanitarian constraints are pushing South Sudan’s civilians to the brink once again, while funding cuts weaken the UN mission tasked with protecting them. Briefing ambassadors in the Security Council on Tuesday, UN peacekeeping chief Jean-Pierre Lacroix said instability had risen sharply in recent weeks, driven by political deadlock among signatories to the 2018 Revitalised Peace Agreement and a dangerous escalation in armed confrontations.

Médecins Sans Frontières said its hospital in South Sudan's Jonglei state, where it serves more than 200,000 people, was hit by an airstrike on Tuesday night, destroying the hospital's main warehouse and most of its critical medical supplies.