South Sudanese lawmakers warn that insecurity could jeopardize the elections planned for December, noting that persistent violence prevents many legislators from visiting their constituencies and hinders both voters’ and candidates’ freedom of movement (Radio Tamazuj).
SPLA-IO Leader Alleges Torture During Detention
SPLA-IO Deputy Chief of Defense Forces Lieutenant General Duop Lam claims he faced physical and psychological torture for over a year while detained in a prison operated by the SSPDF’s Department of Military Intelligence; Lam is one of seven SPLA-IO members facing charges including murder, terrorism, and crimes against humanity for conducting an attack against a military garrison in March 2025 that killed 257 SSPDF soldiers (Radio Tamazuj).
Government Commissioner Killed Amid Escalating Violence
Opposition forces assassinated James Kueth Makuach, a government-appointed commissioner in the oil-rich Jonglei State, as fighting in the region intensified; Makuach defected from the opposition party in April (AP)
UN Report Reveals Surge in Civilian Deaths and Sexual Violence
A UNMISS report documented a 67 percent increase in civilian killings and a 31 percent increase in conflict-related sexual violence during the first quarter of 2026, despite a 4 percent decline in the documented number of violent incidents (Radio Tamazuj)
Five Humanitarian Workers Killed in Convoy Attack
Seventeen people, including at least five humanitarian workers, were killed during an attack on a humanitarian convoy that was transporting staff from a World Food Programme-affiliated training session (Al Jazeera)
Nine Western embassies, including the United States and the European Union, condemned the attack and called for accountability in a joint statement (Radio Tamazuj)
United Nations Withdraws From Base Amid Budget Cuts
UNMISS peacekeepers withdrew from a temporary operating base in Akobo County despite prevailing security concerns in the area amid a 15 percent cut to the mission’s budget; this downsizing is expected to reduce UNMISS’s operational capacity between 25 and 30 percent (Radio Tamazuj)
Sudanese and South Sudanese Leadership Discuss Security Cooperation
The Sudanese Director of the General Intelligence Service, General Ahmed Ibrahim Mufaddal, and the head of Sudan’s Sovereign Council, General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, met with the South Sudanese Director of the National Security Service, General Akec Tong Aleu, to strengthen security cooperation and coordinate efforts to secure their shared border (Sudan Tribune)
New Date Announced for General Elections
Authorities announced the country’s first general election since independence in 2011 will be held on December 22, 2027, following repeated postponements due to political instability and armed conflict between government troops and opposition forces (AP)
More than Five Thousand Displaced Following Armed Clashes
Over five thousand civilians fled their homes in Manyang, Bahr El Ghazal region, following deadly armed clashes between local youths, leading local Commissioner Santino Manut Akech to call on humanitarian organizations to provide critical resources for the displaced (Radio Tamazuj)
Whistleblower Kidnapped in Nairobi, Held in Military Detention
Community groups report that corruption whistleblower Athorbey Al-Gaddhaffy-Dit Guet, who was abducted at gunpoint in Nairobi this week, is being held by military intelligence in Juba (Radio Tamazuj).
South Sudan Extradites Journalist From Egypt
Egyptian authorities deported Kennedy Nimaya, a journalist and registered refugee, to South Sudan; his whereabouts are unknown, but Nimaya’s family fears he has been taken into police custody, based on the government’s previous allegations that he was supporting rebel groups (Radio Tamazuj)
South Sudan Cabinet Shakeup
President Salva Kiir dismissed his foreign and security ministers without giving explanation, according to a decree issued (Reuters)
Hostilities flared in recent months between government forces and opposition rebels, though a 2018 peace deal officially ended South Sudan’s civil war (Al Jazeera)
AU Dispatches Negotiating Team
African Union envoy and former Tanzanian President Jakaya Kikwete held a series of talks with South Sudanese leaders and civil society representatives in Juba, aiming to make headway on securing a ceasefire and the release of detained Vice President Riek Machar (Radio Tamazuj)
Refugees Struggle, Hope as Conflict Widens
Despite persistent difficulties in access to food and healthcare, refugees who fled South Sudan’s embattled Jonglei state after heightened violence earlier this year reported a sense of community and mutual aid at overcrowded camps (UN Mission in South Sudan)
Kiir Dismisses Top Officials
Citing corruption and mismanagement, President Salva Kiir dismissed a pair of top officials in the country’s parliament in a move that closely mirrors previous attempts to retain power through sudden changes in his administration’s senior positions (Reuters)
Easter Offers Platform for Peace
As the United States and other international actors have ramped up pressure on South Sudan’s government to prevent a return to full-scale conflict, pastors across the country have used the pulpit to deliver Easter messages centered on peace and de-escalation (BBC)
Tragedy, Uncertainty in Mine Assault
Accusations flew in Central Equatoria state after armed rebels killed upwards of seventy miners in a government-held area over the weekend, sparking confusion and disagreement as rebel groups and the South Sudanese government continued to dispute the parties responsible (BBC)
Heightened Fear, Destruction in Jonglei State
Civilians described intensified confusion, displacement, and violence as fighting ramps up between South Sudan’s military and rebel forces in the country’s central Jonglei state—an embattled region where drone strikes, armed attacks, and a lack of humanitarian aid have become a part of daily life for hundreds of thousands (BBC)
Following Mass Displacement, Juba Gains Ground
After a sudden evacuation order sent hundreds of thousands across the Ethiopian border, South Sudan’s military said it recaptured Akobo in the country’s far east (Africa News)
Medical Care Remains Inaccessible
In a testament to the country’s rampant corruption, humanitarian workers, soldiers, and civilians in South Sudan described access to government healthcare as virtually nonexistent—so much so that elites like the governor of Jonglei state have been reported to fly to Kenya for treatment (AFP)
UN to Defy South Sudan Military Evacuation Order
In direct defiance of the South Sudanese army’s evacuation orders in the country’s east, the UN Mission in South Sudan—with the support of Washington and London—said its forces would remain in Akobo to protect civilians (AP)
Anticipated Offensive Empties Border Town
Scores of South Sudanese civilians in the eastern town of Akobo fled to neighboring Ethiopia after the country’s armed forces demanded their withdrawal ahead of a planned military offensive against rebel militants in Jonglei state (Al Jazeera)
UN Report: Uganda Played Role in Civilian Strikes
The UN Commission on Human Rights in South Sudan said it found sufficient evidence to conclude that Ugandan forces aided South Sudan’s government in a series of strikes that killed and burned civilians (WaPo)
Hundreds Dead in Twilight Ambush
Local officials and aid workers described harrowing violence in northern South Sudan, where bands of militants torched homes and slaughtered at least 178 civilians in a nighttime attack on homes and marketplaces (BBC)
Tensions Reaching Tipping Point, UN Says
Amid enduring repression, corruption, and displacement in South Sudan, the UN warned the country could once again descend into full-blown civil war as fighting ramps up between government forces and rebel militias in Jonglei state (Al Jazeera)