RismadarVoice Reporters
January 25, 2026
Renewed fighting in South Sudan has displaced more than 180,000 people, with witnesses and aid workers reporting indiscriminate attacks and civilians fleeing into swamps as the country’s fragile peace agreement continues to unravel.
The world’s youngest nation, which gained independence in 2011, has been plagued by conflict, poverty and corruption for over a decade. Violence has surged again in recent months between rival political factions, with the latest clashes concentrated in Jonglei State, north of the capital, Juba.
“I am stuck, and if worse comes, the only safe place for me to go is the swamps,” said Daniel Deng, 35, one of thousands displaced by the fighting in Jonglei, speaking to AFP by phone.
Deng said intense clashes erupted last week in Duk County, where opposition forces briefly took control before being pushed out by government troops.
“Many people were killed,” he said, estimating the number of fighters at around 300, a figure that could not be independently.
The renewed violence follows the near-collapse of a power-sharing agreement between President Salva Kiir and his longtime rival, Vice-President Riek Machar.
Machar was arrested in March last year and is currently on trial for alleged crimes against humanity, further deepening political tensions.
Although Kiir’s and Machar’s forces have clashed intermittently over the past year, aid workers say the most sustained fighting began in late December, particularly in Jonglei.
According to South Sudanese authorities, more than 180,000 people have been displaced across four counties in Jonglei, the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said this week.
“Most people are settling under trees. Their homes and health facilities have been looted or burned, and there is a lot of hunger,” Deng added.
