Fighting in South Sudan’s Akobo displaces 200,000, cuts humanitarian access as conflict between government and opposition forces escalates.
AKOBO: Clashes between rival armies in the opposition-held town of Akobo have displaced hundreds of thousands of people and severed humanitarian aid access.
The fighting in eastern Jonglei state marks a new flashpoint, pushing South Sudan closer to a return to full-scale civil war.
A security source confirmed the army entered Akobo on Tuesday, with pockets of fighting reported across the town.
The opposition claimed it had “strategically vacated the town to lure” government forces in before attacking them.
It said the move led to the army’s “defeat” and that it still controlled the county headquarters, contradicting a military statement about reinstalling a local commissioner.
Approximately 200,000 people have been displaced to the border area of Tiergol, where no NGOs are present to provide assistance.
Limited communications have made confirming events on the ground difficult.
The United Nations refused to evacuate Akobo, but other groups like Doctors Without Borders were forced to leave.
MSF reported that its health facilities were looted over the weekend.
The army had ordered foreign aid agencies to evacuate the town last Friday ahead of a planned offensive.
South Sudan has been mired in instability since gaining independence in 2011, descending quickly into civil war.
A 2018 power-sharing deal between President Salva Kiir and rival Riek Machar has been unravelling since early 2025.
Clashes have erupted in multiple areas, raising fears of a return to all-out conflict in the impoverished nation.
