The United Nations has warned that South Sudan’s security and humanitarian situation is deteriorating sharply, with rising violence, mass displacement and worsening hunger pushing the country closer to a broader catastrophe. Briefing the UN Security Council, the head of the UN Mission in South Sudan, Anita Kiki Gbeho, said the crisis had intensified over the past year, with UNMISS recording a 40 percent increase in deaths and injuries in 2025 compared with 2024.
Gbeho said the security picture remained “deeply concerning,” particularly after fresh fighting in Akobo, a strategic town in Jonglei State that remains one of the last opposition strongholds linked to detained Vice President Riek Machar. The government and opposition forces have been battling again since the collapse of the 2018 peace deal about a year ago, with Akobo emerging as one of the most sensitive flashpoints in the renewed conflict.
The UN official also raised concern over the future of the UNMISS base in Akobo, which is due to close because of funding cuts. She told the Security Council that the planned closure underscored the dilemma facing the international community as it weighs the renewal of the mission’s mandate at a time when civilians remain highly vulnerable. UNMISS had only weeks earlier resisted pressure to leave Akobo, arguing that its presence was essential for civilian protection.
UN humanitarian chief Tom Fletcher, speaking by video link, painted an equally grim picture. He said nearly a quarter of a million people had fled their homes since December, while 1.35 million people across Jonglei State had lost access to healthcare after damage and looting forced 26 health facilities out of service. Fletcher warned that food insecurity had reached emergency levels in parts of all 10 states and said more than 7.5 million people would require food assistance this year.
“I therefore fear that my next briefing to you on South Sudan will speak of famine,” Fletcher said, in one of the starkest warnings yet from the UN on the country’s trajectory. His remarks suggest that South Sudan is not only facing a renewed conflict emergency, but also the risk of a full-scale humanitarian collapse if violence continues and aid access remains constrained.
The warnings come as South Sudan struggles with overlapping crises of war, displacement, weak public services and chronic hunger. For the UN, the message to the Security Council was clear: without sustained peace efforts, civilian protection and stronger humanitarian support, the country could slide into an even more devastating phase of conflict and famine.
