UN peacekeeping mission reports rising violence in South Sudan’s Upper Nile state

United Nations, Nov 22 (IANS) The UN peacekeeping mission in South Sudan has been reporting escalating intercommunal violence, cattle raids and aerial bombardment in the country’s Upper Nile State, a UN spokesperson has said.

The incidents in Ulang and Baliet counties of the Upper Nile State, according to local authorities, have caused multiple casualties, impacting women and children, and displaced around 12,000 people, said Stephane Dujarric, spokesperson for the UN secretary-general, at a daily briefing on Friday (local time).

The United Nations is “deeply concerned by the rising violence in Upper Nile State,” Dujarric told reporters.

In response, the United Nations Mission in South Sudan deployed a patrol to Baliet this week, where peacekeepers engaged with local officials and provided emergency medical assistance, reports Xinhua news agency, quoting Dujarric.

Earlier this month, a global charity announced that more than 445,000 South Sudanese people had fled their homes in 2025 due to a surge in fighting across the country, worsening one of the world’s most protracted humanitarian crises.

The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) said the combined effects of conflict in South Sudan, the consequences of conflict in Sudan, recurrent inter-communal violence, and massive floods had devastated communities in 2025.

The ICRC said families are facing growing hardship and uncertainty as aid funding declines sharply and essential services are stretched to breaking point.

The charity urged all parties to the conflict, authorities, and donors to take action to prevent a catastrophe in the coming months.

Florence Gillette, head of delegation for the ICRC in South Sudan, said conflict-related hostilities affected seven states out of 10, and inter-communal violence has occurred in almost all states.

“This cycle must end so that communities can recover from years of crisis. This is further compounded by the impact of climate change, with above 900,000 affected, including 300,000 displaced,” she added.

The ICRC has assisted 196,000 displaced people and returnees from Sudan in collaboration with the South Sudan Red Cross since the beginning of 2025.

It said this assistance has focused on addressing life-saving needs through a combination of food support, cash assistance, emergency agricultural and livestock interventions, income-generating assistance, and the provision of essential household items to improve living conditions.

–IANS

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