NAIROBI, Jan 25, 2026 (BSS/AFP) - The situation in South Sudan is 
heightening "the risk of mass violence against civilians", independent UN 
experts warned on Sunday as fresh conflict grips the country.

The UN Commission on Human Rights in South Sudan in a statement expressed 
"grave alarm" at fighting in Jonglei state north of the capital Juba, where 
witnesses have described civilians fleeing into swamps.

The world's youngest country has been beset by war, poverty and massive 
corruption since it was formed in 2011, but violence is once again on the 
rise between rival factions.

A power-sharing agreement between the two main sides is all but dead after 
President Salva Kiir moved against his vice-president and long-time rival, 
Riek Machar, who was arrested last March and is now on trial for "crimes 
against humanity".

Their forces have fought several times over the past year, but the most 
sustained clashes began in late December in Jonglei.

Public statements by commanders encouraging violence against civilians, along 
with troop mobilisation, "represent a dangerous escalation at a moment when 
the political foundations of the peace process are already severely 
weakened", the UN commission said.

Army chief Paul Nang Majok on Wednesday ordered troops deployed in the region 
to "crush the rebellion" within seven days.

Local media have also quoted a senior army official as saying "no one should 
be spared, not even the elderly".

The UN mission in South Sudan (UNMISS) said it was "gravely concerned" about 
the public declarations.

"Inflammatory rhetoric calling for violence against civilians, including the 
most vulnerable, is utterly abhorrent and must stop now," said UNMISS head 
Graham Maitland.

Renewed fighting in South Sudan has displaced more than 180,000 people, 
according to the country's authorities.

Kiir and Machar fought a five-year war shortly after independence that 
claimed 400,000 lives. A 2018 power-sharing deal kept the peace for some 
years but plans to hold elections and merge their armies did not materialise.