300,000 flee South Sudan as Kiir–Machar conflict escalates, UN warns of civil war return
The resurgence of fighting has triggered mass displacement and deepened what the UN calls one of the world’s longest-running humanitarian crises.
About 300,000 people have fled South Sudan so far in 2025 amid renewed clashes between rival factions, the United Nations Commission on Human Rights in South Sudan said on Monday, warning that the country risks sliding back into full-scale civil war.
In a statement after a mission to the African Union (AU) headquarters in Addis Ababa, the Commission said rising political tensions between President Salva Kiir and suspended First Vice President Riek Machar have reignited violence on a scale not seen since the 2017 ceasefire.
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The resurgence of fighting has triggered mass displacement and deepened what the UN calls one of the world’s longest-running humanitarian crises.
According to the Commission, 148,000 South Sudanese have fled to Sudan since the start of the year, 50,000 to Ethiopia, another 50,000 to Uganda, 30,000 to the Democratic Republic of Congo, and 25,000 to Kenya.
The new exodus adds to the 2.5 million South Sudanese refugees already hosted across the region. Inside the country, another two million people remain internally displaced, while South Sudan itself hosts about 560,000 refugees fleeing the ongoing war in Sudan.
The Commission warned that South Sudan’s deepening political crisis, renewed armed confrontations, and entrenched corruption are eroding fragile peace gains and worsening human rights conditions.
Full-scale conflict risk
“Unless there is immediate, sustained, and coordinated political engagement by the region, South Sudan risks sliding back into full-scale conflict with unimaginable human rights consequences,” said Commissioner Barney Afako, who led the UN mission to the AU.
The Commission also linked the resurgence of violence to corruption and impunity, saying both have fuelled political division and weakened state institutions.
It recalled findings from its earlier report, Plundering a Nation: How rampant corruption unleashed a human rights crisis in South Sudan, which detailed how public funds were systematically stolen, denying citizens basic services and fuelling further conflict.
The Commission also accused South Sudan’s leaders of deliberately stalling the peace process despite a decade of regional mediation led by the AU and the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD).
Justice and accountability
Commission Chair Yasmin Sooka emphasised that South Sudan’s recovery depends on justice and accountability, criticising the government for failing to establish the Hybrid Court promised in the 2018 peace deal.
“The promises made to victims years ago remain unmet. The Hybrid Court must move from paper to concrete action. The African Union has the mandate and moral responsibility to ensure justice is delivered,” she said.
The Commission urged the African Union and the United Nations Security Councils, meeting in Addis Ababa this week, to prioritise justice and accountability — including the swift establishment of the Hybrid Court — in their discussions.
It also called for urgent, coordinated diplomatic efforts to prevent the situation in South Sudan from deteriorating further.
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