The United Nations’ top official in South Sudan has issued a stark warning to the Security Council, urging immediate intervention to prevent the world’s youngest nation from descending into renewed civil war, according to AP News.
Nicholas Haysom, head of the UN peacekeeping mission, cautioned that escalating tensions between President Salva Kiir and Vice President Riek Machar had erupted into open military clashes, mirroring conditions that sparked devastating conflicts in 2013 and 2016.
Haysom highlighted that recent fighting in northern regions, Machar’s arrest, and a surge in hate speech and disinformation are exacerbating ethnic and political divisions.
These conditions are darkly reminiscent of the 2013 and 2016 conflicts, which took over 400,000 lives.
Despite a 2018 peace deal–still deemed the “only viable framework” for stability–progress has stalled. Elections, initially slated for 2023, were postponed to 2026, deepening public disillusionment. Haysom called for urgent diplomatic pressure to uphold ceasefires and revive dialogue, with the UN mission engaging the African Union, regional bloc IGAD, and the Vatican to mediate.
Edem Wosornu, the UN’s humanitarian operations director, painted a dire picture of compounding crises: 9.3 million South Sudanese (75% of the population) require aid, including 7.7 million facing acute hunger, a sharp rise from 2024.
If the political crisis is not averted, the humanitarian nightmare will become a reality very quickly.
Wosornu reiterated her August alert about a “perfect storm” of famine, economic collapse, and environmental disasters, now intensified by renewed violence. Displacement camps are overwhelmed, and aid access is dwindling as clashes disrupt supply routes.
