US EditionSouth Sudan crisis heightens 'risk of mass violence' against civilians, UN experts say
The South Sudan People’s Defence Forces ordered evacuations in Jonglei to stop an opposition offensive; over 180,000 people have been displaced amid escalating clashes, UN reports.
- JUBA, Jan 26 — South Sudan’s military ordered civilians, United Nations Mission in South Sudan personnel, and NGO workers to evacuate three counties in Jonglei within 48 hours ahead of an imminent operation.
- Clashes that began in late December have intensified as the SSPDF seeks to halt an SPLA‑IO offensive after its seizure of Pajut and calls to march on Juba last week.
- SSPDF spokesperson Lul Ruai Koang said civilians `would be considered as legitimate military targets` and local media quoted a senior army official saying `no one should be spared, not even the elderly`, while the UN Commission warned such rhetoric dangerously escalates violence.
- UNMISS said over 180,000 people in Jonglei have been displaced and expressed grave concern, while Médecins Sans Frontières evacuated key staff from Akobo county amid worsening security on Sunday.
- The UN Commission urged regional and international partners to urgently re-engage to preserve the 2018 power-sharing peace deal, warned incitement risks criminal liability, and cautioned failure may trigger all-out ethnic conflict as the window to act closes fast.
25 Articles
25 Articles
South Sudan orders UN personnel, civilians to leave parts of Jonglei State
South Sudan's military has ordered all civilians and personnel from the UN mission and all other charities to evacuate three counties in Jonglei State ahead of an operation there against opposition forces.
Sudan: Drone Attacks Wreak Death, Injury Among South Kordofan Civilians
Dilling -- Drone attacks attributable to both sides in the Sudan conflict have wreaked death and injury among civilians in South Kordofan, including women and children, as intensified fighting in has forced thousands of people to flee their homes.
A risk of massive violence against civilians in South Sudan. The alert is issued by independent UN experts. In a statement issued on Sunday 25 January, they express their great concern at the situation in Jonglei, which has been in confrontation since the end of December between the army loyal to President Salva Kiir and SPLA-IO, forces loyal to former Vice-President Riek Machar arrested at the end of March 2025.
South Sudan crisis heightens 'risk of mass violence' against civilians, UN experts say
Independent UN experts warned on Sunday that escalating violence in South Sudan was raising the risk of mass atrocities against civilians, citing fresh clashes and inflammatory rhetoric. The UN Commission on Human Rights said it was gravely alarmed by fighting in Jonglei state, where witnesses reported civilians fleeing into nearby swamps.
According to the South Sudanese authorities, some 180,000 people were displaced as a result of clashes.
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