GENEVA: The United Nations human rights chief warned on Friday that South Sudan stands on the brink of renewed war.
Volker Turk stated that nearly 2,000 civilians have been killed in a surge of violence throughout this year.
The UN documented 1,854 killings, 1,693 injuries, 423 abductions, and 169 cases of sexual violence from January to September.
This represents a 59% jump in violence compared to the previous year.
The UN added that limited access to conflict zones means the real human toll is likely significantly higher.
“This is unconscionable and must stop,“ said the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights in a statement.
He said fears were intensifying that a 2018 peace deal, which ended a brutal five-year civil war, was about to collapse.
Such a collapse could send the country back to all-out fighting.
“I deeply worry for the plight of civilians in South Sudan,“ Turk stated.
He called on the country’s leaders and the international community to do everything in their power to pull South Sudan from the brink.
Fighting has escalated sharply across the country since March.
The statement said the army has carried out indiscriminate airstrikes in populated areas of Upper Nile, Jonglei, Unity, Central Equatoria, and Warrap states.
Homes, schools, and clinics have been destroyed, displacing thousands of people.
Communal bloodshed has also spiked significantly this year.
Inter-clan and ethnic clashes in Warrap and Jonglei states drove a 33% rise in civilian deaths.
The UN reported at least 45 extrajudicial killings by security forces so far in 2025.
Turk also pressed the government in Juba to ensure due process in the trial of suspended First Vice President Riek Machar.
Machar faces charges including treason and crimes against humanity over a March attack on a military base. – AFP
