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Instability in South Sudan
Drone Strike on Heglig Oilfield
- Sudan’s military launched the drone strike on the oil processing facility one day after the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) captured it, leading to dozens of deaths, including South Sudanese soldiers who were sent into Sudan following the RSF capture (AP)
- The threats to Heglig have spurred concerns in Juba, which depends entirely on Sudan’s pipeline network to export oil (Al Jazeera)
- Following the capture of Heglig, nearly four thousand Sudanese troops fled into South Sudan and surrendered their weapons, with thousands of civilians also crossing the border (The National)
RSF Claims Control Over Heglig Oilfield
- The oilfield houses the central processing facility for Sudanese and South Sudanese crude and was the Sudanese army’s last major position in western and eastern Kordofan, underscoring its strategic importance (Reuters; Al Jazeera)
- South Sudanese officials suggested that oil continued to flow despite the RSF capture (Bloomberg)
President Kiir Orders Upper Nile Regional Ministers to Return Home
- South Sudanese President Salva Kiir directed cabinet ministers from Unity, Upper Nile, and Jonglei states to return home to promote peace; these regions were the epicenter of the country’s civil war, and officials hope the visits will foster dialogue with local communities on peace and security (Sudans Post)
Gunman Hijacks Aid Aircraft in South Sudan
- The gunman seized a Samaritan’s Purse relief plane departing Juba and ordered the pilot to fly toward Chad, though he was arrested after the aircraft landed in Wau for refueling; no injuries were reported (AP)
Government Reshuffles Petroleum Ministry Leadership
- President Salva Kiir replaced the undersecretary of the oil ministry for the fourth time in under two months and ousted the head of the state oil firm; analysts say the rapid reshuffles fuel corruption risks, with the president aiming to reward loyalists (Reuters)
Plane Crash Kills Three Aid Workers
- The plane, which crashed in Unity State, was carrying emergency food aid on behalf of the Samaritan’s Purse charity (Reuters)
South Sudan Restarts Oil Exports After Drone Strikes in Sudan
- Officials said crude shipments to Port Sudan, which had paused following aerial attacks from the Rapid Support Forces on processing facilities in Sudan, resumed following emergency repairs; the incident underscores the vulnerability of South Sudan’s economy to spillover from Sudan’s war (AP)
South Sudan President Salva Kiir Dismisses Vice President
- South Sudan President Salva Kiir dismissed Vice President Benjamin Bol Mel and stripped him of his military rank of general (BBC)
- Bol Mel was appointed as one of the country’s five vice presidents in January, and while Kiir’s office did not explain his sudden removal, he has been under U.S. sanctions for alleged corruption since 2017 (Reuters)
New Report Warns Nearly Six Million People Facing High Levels of Acute Food Insecurity
- The Integrated Food Security Phase Classification released a report stating that 5.97 million South Sudanese are facing high levels of acute food insecurity in the country, including 1.3 million who are facing emergency conditions; the new report also found that violence is the primary driver of hunger in South Sudan, contributing to UN warnings about the country being on the brink of another civil war (AfricaNews)
More Cabinet Firings in South Sudan
- President Salva Kiir sacked the country’s finance minister, escalating a pattern of continuous cabinet reshuffling as Kiir pushes to maintain control over key government postings (Reuters)
South Sudan Demands Reduction of UN Mission
- South Sudan’s Foreign Ministry has called for a 70 percent reduction in international military personnel serving with the UN Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS), alongside the closure of military bases and the grounding of intelligence aircraft (Radio Tamazuj)
Floods in South Sudan Affect Over 960,000 People
- Since July, floods have affected over 900,000 people across six South Sudanese states, according to the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs; nearly 300,000 people have been displaced by heavy rainfall and rising Nile River levels, exacerbating the country’s dire humanitarian situation (OCHA)
UN: 300,000 People Fled South Sudan in 2025
- The UN estimates that 300,000 people have fled South Sudan since the beginning of 2025; renewed armed violence is the primary cause, with most refugees seeking safety in Ethiopia, Sudan, and Uganda (Al Jazeera)
South Sudan President Salva Kiir Fires Military Leader
- President Salva Kiir dismissed Chief of Defence Forces Dau Aturjong and reinstated Paul Nang Majok, who previously held the position for seven months before being removed in July amid renewed militia fighting (Reuters)
South Sudan Rivals Readying for Conflict
- An international body tasked with monitoring the country’s ceasefire said both government and opposition groups have escalated efforts to recruit fighters and abduct children for participation as child soldiers, as the warring parties prepare for the possible unraveling of the 2018 peace deal that halted the civil war (AP)
Officials Blame ‘Red Belt’ Group for Jonglei Violence
- Authorities in Jonglei accused the so-called Red Belt of a months-long wave of attacks against civilians, including a September 27 ambush near Bor that killed a girl, prompting new security measures and calls to arrest group members (Radio Tamazuj)
Rebel Attack Displaces Tens of Thousands
- A joint force from the National Salvation Front and Sudan People’s Liberation Army-in-Opposition attacked a South Sudan People’s Defence Forces base in Kediba, Mundri East County, displacing nearly thirty thousand civilians and prompting calls for urgent humanitarian aid (Radio Tamazuj)
U.S. Condemns South Sudan Army Raid on UN Food Aid
- The U.S. Embassy in Juba criticized South Sudan’s military for looting a World Food Programme boat in New Fangak on September 7, calling it part of a worsening pattern of attacks on humanitarian aid; the embassy urged the transitional government to ensure access for relief agencies as famine looms in Upper Nile State (Radio Tamazuj)
Treason Trial Begins for South Sudan VP Machar
- South Sudan has begun the treason trial of suspended Vice President Riek Machar, who was accused in March of crimes against humanity, murder, and treason for alleged involvement in rebel attacks against federal forces; President Salva Kiir’s move to oust Machar has raised fears of renewed civil war (Al Jazeera)
UN Condemns Charges Against South Sudan Vice President
- South Sudanese authorities charged First Vice President Riek Machar with treason, murder, and other crimes over a March militia attack in the Upper Nile, while President Salva Kiir has suspended Machar from office; the UN Human Rights Commission called the charges “reckless” as fears mount of renewed civil war (AP/Africanews)
UN Probes South Sudan Graft
- A commission created by the UN Human Rights Council said in a new report that widespread elite corruption in the country was diverting money from basic services (UN)
- In one example, it accused authorities of paying $1.7 billion to firms linked to the vice president for work that was never done; South Sudan’s justice minister said the report did not match the government’s own data (Reuters)
Israel Discusses Possibility of Resettling Gazans to South Sudan
- Israel is in discussions with South Sudan about the possibility of resettling Palestinians from the Gaza Strip to the East African country, which is a part of a broader effort by the Israeli government to displace people from the territory; it is unclear how far the talks have advanced (AP)
South Sudanese and Ugandan Soldiers Clash Along Border
- Forces from South Sudan and Uganda clashed along the border between their countries in a firefight that left at least four dead; three South Sudanese soldiers were killed by Ugandan troops who retaliated after one of their soldiers was killed, according to Major General Felix Kulayigye of the Ugandan military, however a local official in South Sudan’s Central Equatoria state, Wani Jackson Mule, said he received the bodies of five soldiers (Al Jazeera)
- The firefight occurred in a remote part of northwestern Uganda, known as West Nile, when South Sudanese soldiers crossed further into Ugandan territory and refused to leave, according to Kulayigye (AP)
Main Opposition Party Challenges President’s Call to Avoid Civil War
- South Sudan’s primary opposition party, SPLM-IO, dismissed the president’s call for dialogue to prevent the country from relapsing into civil war; according to a spokesperson for the opposition SPLM-IO, President Salva Kiir “must release political and military leaders of the SPLM-IO who are in detention to show his seriousness about the dialogue” (AP)