Addressing the United Nations Security Council on Friday, Tom Fletcher, the UN relief chief, described South Sudan as a nation in despair. Renewed fighting has forced more than 410,000 people to flee, including 110,000 to neighboring Ethiopia. Hostilities have continued to escalate across parts of Jonglei, Upper Nile and Unity states, with airstrikes and armed clashes reported in the past week.
“Visiting South Sudan a few weeks ago, I was told again and again of a feeling of despair and abandonment – and with good reason. The world’s youngest nation stands at a dangerous crossroads,” said Fletcher, the UN Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator.
"Conflict up. Displacement up. Hunger up. Disease up. Attacks on aid workers up. Funding down."
The situation in Jonglei, Upper Nile and several other states has deteriorated to levels not witnessed since 2017. This deterioration is occurring amid an escalating conflict that is forcing people to flee their homes and restricting aid workers' access. There has also been a surge in human rights violations, including the forced recruitment of children by armed forces.
Fletcher pointed to the escalating violence in Akobo, a town he visited in February, saying that the town’s vital hospital had been stripped bare within just a few weeks. He stressed that attacks on healthcare facilities continue to deprive vulnerable communities of lifesaving services.
“In the town of Akobo, violence has forced aid workers out, cutting communities off from our help when they need it most,” he said.
“When our inter-agency team recently returned to the area two weeks ago, they found more than 140,000 people in dire need of help in the surrounding areas of Akobo County. Humanitarian compounds looted, and nutrition centers destroyed.”
According to the World Health Organization (WHO), some 1.35 million people across Jonglei State have lost access to health care after 26 facilities were destroyed or forced to close, while cholera is on the rise, and measles persists.
Since March 2025, political instability and rising hostilities between armed groups have led to clashes in Upper Nile State, Jonglei State, and other parts of the country. Over the past thirteen months, these clashes have resulted in deaths and injuries, as well as the destruction of civilian infrastructure.
“The situation in Upper Nile State, in the northeast corner, is just as alarming. Fighting, access restrictions, interference with our operations – all are blocking aid,” Fletcher said.
The escalation of conflict in Jonglei and Upper Nile states has worsened the cholera outbreak in South Sudan, threatening the progress made toward containing it. As of last week, there have been more than 102,000 reported cases and 1,662 reported deaths, with a case fatality rate that exceeds the emergency threshold.
Fletcher cautioned that bureaucracy and restrictions are slowing humanitarian operations, even as hunger tightens its grip across the country. Large numbers of people are now facing emergency-level food insecurity, raising fears that South Sudan could slide further toward famine.
According to the latest food security report, over half of South Sudan's population — approximately 7.56 million people — will experience crisis-level hunger or worse from April to July 2026, during the lean season. In the coming months, tens of thousands will be at risk of famine.
Furthermore, more than 2.1 million children under five are experiencing acute malnutrition and urgently need nutritional services and treatment. Additionally, an estimated 1.15 million pregnant and breastfeeding women in South Sudan are malnourished.
Fletcher said he fears his next briefing to the Council on South Sudan will address famine.
“All of this is unfolding as floods are expected to continue, cutting communities off and hitting livelihoods – once again,” he added.
Fletcher urged the Security Council to act quickly to prevent a full-scale humanitarian collapse. He recommended ensuring that aid agencies can reach those in need, increasing flexible funding, and demanding that all parties to the conflict respect international humanitarian law.
“Support renewed political efforts to strengthen adherence to ceasefire agreements and move towards implementation of the Revitalized Peace Agreement,” he stressed.
“Humanitarian action can save lives, but, as I underlined to the President and his team, only peace can end this crisis.”
South Sudan continues to face an unprecedented humanitarian crisis. Needs are rising due to conflict, displacement, and disease outbreaks, as well as restricted access and mounting operational obstacles. The crisis has left 9.9 million people in need of life-saving assistance, and critical funding shortfalls are exacerbating the situation.
“Two out of every three people need humanitarian support this year, yet our hyper-prioritized $1.46 billion Humanitarian Plan is only 22 percent funded,” Fletcher said.
South Sudan is also grappling with new arrivals fleeing the war in Sudan. Over 1.36 million people have sought refuge in South Sudan three years into the conflict. About 918,000 of these arrivals are South Sudanese nationals.
The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs warns that those fleeing the war arrive exhausted and malnourished with nowhere to go. Basic services are stretched to the limit. Aid agencies in Renk County have reported that humanitarian conditions at the Renk Transit Center, located at the border, are worsening and require urgent, coordinated action.
“In the town of Renk, more than 30,000 people have arrived in just three months, almost two thirds of them women. Thousands are stuck in a transit center with limited basic services. We are hearing reports of older people dying due to severe malnutrition,” said the UN relief chief.
South Sudan is at heightened risk of renewed large-scale violence as political tensions intensify and ethnically targeted attacks spread, particularly in the states of Jonglei, Unity, Upper Nile, and Central Equatoria.
In February, the Commission on Human Rights in South Sudan, which was established by the UN Human Rights Council (HRC), warned that political and military leaders are undermining the 2018 Revitalized Peace Agreement. This endangers civilians and puts them at risk of renewed conflict, mass atrocity crimes, and serious violations of human rights and humanitarian law.
On Friday, in a related development, the UN Commission expressed grave concern over reports of bodies discovered in Jonglei State during recent road construction, warning that the true human cost of the country’s renewed violence may be significantly greater than currently known.
Initial information suggests that the remains may be those of combatants killed in earlier fighting, though the circumstances surrounding their deaths and burials remain unclear.
“At this stage, it cannot be excluded that these sites may also contain civilians or individuals killed in circumstances that could amount to serious violations of international humanitarian and human rights law,” the Commission said.
These reports emerged amid intense fighting around Akobo in recent days, where control of territory has reportedly shifted between the South Sudan People's Defense Forces (SSPDF) and opposition groups.
“These reports are deeply troubling. The discovery of human remains in a conflict-affected area is always a matter of serious concern,” said Yasmin Sooka, Chair of the Commission.
“While the facts are still emerging, it is essential that these sites are handled with care and in accordance with internationally recognized legal and forensic standards to establish the truth about what occurred.”
Sooka added that the possibility of unmarked graves points to an even more disturbing reality: one in which the full extent of the suffering is hidden and where unlawful killings or enforced disappearances have gone unaccounted for.