UN condemns civilian casualties in deadly S.Sudan clashes

People fleeing the Sudanese war in March 2024 disembark a truck which has brought them to Renk from the Joda border crossing in South Sudan. [File, Gettyimages]

The head of the UN Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS) on Monday denounced "indiscriminate attacks on civilians" following a spike in violence between forces allied to the nation's rival leaders that threatens to undermine a fragile power-sharing deal.

Clashes have taken place for several weeks in Nasir County between federal forces loyal to President Salva Kiir and the "White Army" -- a militia group accused by the government of collaborating with First Vice President Riek Machar.

"The political and security situation has significantly deteriorated since the White Army, that is a youth militia, overran barracks previously occupied the South Sudan People's Defence Forces (SSPDF) in Nasir on the 4th of March," Nicholas Haysom told reporters.

Retaliation to the incident has led to bombardment across Upper Nile state, with some bombs containing a highly flammable liquid that acts as an accelerant upon explosion, according to Haysom.

"These indiscriminate attacks on civilians are causing significant casualties and horrific injuries, especially burns," Haysom said, adding that an estimated 63,000 people have been displaced by the flaring violence.

"Given this grim situation, we are left with no other conclusion, but to assess that South Sudan is teetering on the edge of a relapse into civil war," he warned.

UNMISS met with multiple peace organizations Monday to address the unraveling situation, Haysom said, but lamented that a visit by dignitaries to capital Juba was postponed a week "without explanation" by the South Sudanese government.

Since its independence from Sudan in 2011, the oil-rich but impoverished nation has been plagued by violence, including a civil war from 2013 to 2018 that previously pitted Kiir against Machar, leaving some 400,000 people dead.

A 2018 peace deal required the unification of armed forces, but UNMISS has said this has yet to be achieved.