The escalation comes amid rising protection risks for civilians and aid workers, with three humanitarian workers killed between February 7 and 16 in Jonglei and Upper Nile states, according to the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, OCHA.
Access to some of the worst-hit areas remains patchy despite renewed promises from authorities to allow relief operations.
Last Friday, emergency aid coordinator Tom Fletcher arrived in the country for a five-day mission to draw international attention to what he described as a worsening and underreported crisis.
“So here in South Sudan you have this perfect storm of climate change and conflict and inequality and poverty,” Mr. Fletcher said upon arrival. “Right now, people here in South Sudan feel like no one is listening.”
Emergency Aid Coordinator Tom Fletcher (left) at Akobo County Hospital in Jonglei State, South Sudan.
Displacement increments
Clashes between the South Sudan People’s Defense Forces – the national army – and elements of the rival Sudan People’s Liberation Army-in-Opposition (SPLA-iO), which resumed in late December, have sparked large-scale displacement across central and northern Jonglei.
According to the South Sudanese authorities, nearly 280,000 people have fled their homes in eight countieswith many moving into Upper Nile and Lakes states.
Families are sheltering in the open or in makeshift structures in urgent need of food, healthcare and basic supplies. Markets and agricultural activities have been disrupted, leaving several communities with little or no access to food.
The UN’s World Food Program (WFP) has scaled up food aid, but fighting and insecurity – including looting of aid convoys – are hampering the response.
Caught in the crossfire
In Akobo, Southern Jonglei State, Mr. Fletcher a local hospital where at least 93 patients with gunshot wounds had been treated as of February 18.
“Civilians should never be a target,” he said after meeting victims who included an 18-month-old child and a 70-year-old grandmother.
At the hospital, a humanitarian worker said: “The father was shot. The mother was abducted.“The grandmother had walked seven days for help. Asked if she had been fed, Mr. Fletcher remarked: “There is no food.“
He added that communities go “weeks without the support they need”, describing “devastating stories of sexual violence, of hunger and starvation, of children arriving who have lost everything.”
Cholera on the march
The fighting has taken a toll on the healthcare system. Thirteen facilities were reportedly damaged or looted, resulting in three deaths and one injury among health workers. In some counties, most facilities have been destroyed or suspended operations.
Meanwhile, cholera continues to spread. Between February 11 and 17, 106 new cases and three deaths were reported in five counties. Since the outbreak began in September 2024, more than 98,000 cases and 1,624 deaths have been recorded nationwide.
Access and accountability
Although the authorities have reiterated directives on unimpeded humanitarian access, implementation remains inconsistent. Aid convoys have been denied in some areas and operational restrictions have limited movements.
Mr. Fletcher said the challenge extends beyond immediate relief, asking: “How do we get a peace process? How do we end this conflict? How do we provide security for people here?”
“But also, how do we cut through the noise, the noise of distraction and apathy?”
