Fighting between government forces and opposition groups is intensifying in South Sudan, with the UN Human Rights Commission in the country sounding the alarm about serious attacks on civilians. At the same time, political and military elites are accused of undermining the 2018 peace agreement.
Civilians in South Sudan are facing serious abuses, including deadly violence, systematic sexual violence, arbitrary detention and forced displacement. This is evident from a report which was presented by UN Independent Commission on Human Rights in South Sudan at the end of February.
The abuses are taking place against the backdrop of intensified violence between government forces led by the country's President Salva Kiir and opposition forces allied with w/ the deposed Vice President Riek Machar.
The conflict escalated in December when opposition forces and allied militias took over areas in Jonglei province, home to the Nuer ethnic group. Government forces responded with attacks, according to reports in Al Jazeera.
MAchar, who belongs to the Nuer ethnic group was indicted in September 2025 for treason and other serious crimes. His removal is said to have contributed to increasing tensions in the country, reports The Guardian.
The new report is based on independent investigations in South Sudan and focuses on events in 2025. The experts points to worrying developments, including airstrikes on civilian areas and theThe country of Uganda is accused of have supported the attacks
“Air and ground attacks on civilians by government forces, which are primarily targeting civilians in opposition-affiliated areas, mainly Nuer communities, are part of the ruling party’s systematic dismantling of the peace agreement,” says one of the report’s authors, Barney Afako, in a comment to OHCHR.
Reports blames both government and opposition forces for the escalating violence against civilians. It also warns of reports of sexual violence and the forced recruitment of children. At the same time, it accuses the country's political and military elite of undermining the 2018 peace agreement - a development that the commission believes bringing South Sudan closer to a new full-scale war.
In 2026, over 263,000 people have been displaced in several provinces as a result of the fighting, rapporterar UN humanitarian agency OCHA. Dis itl warns United Nations Organization for Migration (IOM) to just below two millions internally displaced persons life is in danger as a result of lack of funding. According to demand about 29 million dollars in order to maintain the humanitarian efforts in the country.
15 years of independence – but no democratic elections
South Sudann won its independence from Sudan 2011. EA transitional government was appointed and Salva Kiir became president. He had already led the South as a semi-autonomous region since 2005.
A political rivalry emerged between President Salva Kiir and First Vice President Riek Machar. The two were former allies in the Sudan People's Liberation Army (SPLA) guerrilla movement, which led the fight for independence from Sudan.
The collaboration broke down when Kiir dismissed Machar from the post of vice president and later accused him of planning a coup d'état, which was the starting point for the bloody civil war 2013
Machar formed the rebel movement SPLM-IO, and the fighting that followed quickly developed into a conflict characterized by ethnic conflicts. Both leaders mobilized support from their respective ethnic groups Dinka and Nuer – the two largest ethnic groups in the country.
Peace Agreement was signed 2018 and paved the way for a unity government and meant that Machar was reinstated as vice president. But the power-sharing arrangement has repeatedly led to new deadlocks between the parties. In September 2025, Machar was charged with murder, treason and other serious crimes after a deadly attack on a military base in the city of Nasir. The attack was reportedly carried out by the militia White Army, who was an ally with Machar during the civil war, explains The Guardian.
The first democratic elections were to have been held 2015 but President Kiir has repeatedly pushed them forward. enlthe latest news is neat val is planned for December 2026
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