South Sudan - May 2025

In May, fighting between government forces and opposition-aligned groups intensified in South Sudan, threatening to unravel the 2018 peace agreement. Between 3 and 20 May, government forces escalated aerial and ground offensives in Jonglei and Upper Nile states, including a 3 May airstrike on a Médecins Sans Frontières hospital in Old Fangak that killed at least seven civilians and injured over 20—suspending critical medical care for over 100,000 people. UN officials condemned the deliberate targeting of medical infrastructure as a potential war crime. The escalation follows earlier hostilities that began in February in Upper Nile, involving militia groups like the White Army. More than 130,000 people have been displaced in the past three months amid worsening humanitarian conditions, while dozens of opposition-linked politicians have been arbitrarily detained. First Vice President Riek Machar remains under house arrest. As ethnic tensions deepen and violence spreads, international observers have warned that South Sudan risks sliding back into full-scale civil war.

Sources: UN Human Rights Office, International Crisis Group, The New Humanitarian, Radio Tamazuj, UN Commission on Human Rights in South Sudan, British Broadcasting Corporation