At Least 50,000 Displaced in South Sudan Amid Renewed Clashes Between Kiir and Machar Forces

At least 50,000 people have been displaced in South Sudan since February, as violent clashes between forces loyal to President Salva Kiir and First Vice President Riek Machar escalate in the northwest, the United Nations reported on Tuesday.

The violence, centered in Nasir County, Upper Nile State, has intensified tensions between the rival factions, putting the country’s fragile peace agreement at significant risk.

“The ongoing conflict is exacerbating the vulnerability of already at-risk communities and halting vital humanitarian services,” said Anita Kiki Gbeho, a representative from the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) in South Sudan.

The situation took a deadly turn on Monday when an airstrike by government forces hit Nasir County, killing at least 20 people, including several children. Local commissioner James Gatluak confirmed the attack to AFP.

In addition, the fighting has forced 23 humanitarian workers to evacuate and prompted the closure of a cholera treatment center in the region.

Gbeho emphasized the urgent need for humanitarian aid to reach those in dire need. “I urge all parties to allow humanitarians safe access to the affected population, particularly women, children, and the elderly,” she said.

The situation worsened last week, with Doctors Without Borders (MSF) reporting a cholera outbreak in South Sudan’s Akobo County, within the Upper Nile region, with 1,300 cases already recorded.

The violence threatens the 2018 peace deal between Kiir and Machar, who were once bitter enemies in a brutal five-year civil war that left nearly 400,000 people dead.

Kiir’s supporters have accused Machar’s forces of stoking unrest in Nasir County, allegedly in collaboration with the White Army—an armed group of youths from the Nuer ethnic group loyal to Machar.

Tensions reached a boiling point earlier this month when an estimated 6,000 White Army fighters overran a military camp in Nasir.

A United Nations rescue mission failed to prevent the violence, resulting in the deaths of a UN helicopter pilot and a senior South Sudanese general, among others.

The ongoing clashes threaten to unravel the fragile peace in South Sudan, leaving thousands more at risk.