Südsudan

Barrel bombs believed to contain a highly flammable liquid have been used in airstrikes in South Sudan as escalating violence pushes the world's newest country to the brink of another civil war, the UN has said. The comments by Nicholas Haysom, head of the UN mission in South Sudan, follow recent fighting between the army and a rebel militia, known as the White Army, at a military base in the northern town of Nasir in oil-rich Upper Nile State. 

The situation in South Sudan’s Upper Nile state could escalate into war if parties do not take practical measures to embrace dialogue and consensus, a UN official said.

South Sudan's security situation is volatile, as civil war-time leadership divisions deepen. The UN has expressed concern, regional mediators are scrambling and a US evacuation is underway. 

Uganda has deployed special forces in South Sudan as fears grow that the country could descend into civil war. … Sporadic fighting has broken out in South Sudan in recent days as tension threatens to pull Kiir and Machar back into conflict. The pair signed a peace deal to bring a five-year civil war to an end in 2018. Kiir’s government detained two ministers and several senior military officials allied with Machar last week.

A UN helicopter attempting to evacuate wounded South Sudanese soldiers in the north of the country was attacked on Friday, killing a crew member and injuring two others. More than two dozen members of the South Sudanese military, including an injured General, were also reportedly killed when the UN mission (UNMISS) helicopter came under fire in Nasir, Upper Nile State.

South Sudanese forces have arrested the petroleum minister and several senior military officials allied with First Vice President Riek Machar as soldiers surrounded his home in the capital, Juba. Deputy army chief, General Gabriel Duop Lam, a Machar loyalist, was held on Tuesday, while Petroleum Minister Puot Kang Chol was arrested on Wednesday alongside his bodyguards and family.

The United Nations Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS) is deeply concerned by clashes in Nassir, Upper Nile, and persistent tensions between organized forces in Western Equatoria that have led to deaths, destruction of property and civilian displacement in both states. On 14-15 February, a series of violent exchanges took place between the South Sudan People’s Defense Forces (SSPDF) and armed youth in Nassir. 

[…] Transparency International, which compiles the annual Corruption Perceptions Index, found that 47 countries out of the 180 it surveyed had their lowest score last year since it started using its current methodology for its global ranking in 2012. It said of its 2024 survey that “global corruption levels remain alarmingly high, with efforts to reduce them faltering.”

As South Sudan enters its extended transitional period this month, the UN’s top envoy to the country has warned that the clock is ticking to accomplish the commitments under a key 2018 peace accord, ahead of a new deadline set for February 2027.

The general elections, initially scheduled for December 2024, have been postponed once again, this time to December 2026. While this extension may seem to provide sufficient time for thorough preparations, two years is, in fact, a very short period to establish the mechanisms and structures needed to minimize election violence and resolve potential conflicts. This is particularly true given the slow progress made in recent years.