UN urged to intervene as South Sudan faces risk of renewed civil war

A dire warning has been issued by the United Nations’ top official in South Sudan,urging the U.N. Security Council to act swiftly to prevent the country from descending into another civil war.

Nicholas Haysom,the U.N. special envoy,highlighted the growing tension between President Salva Kiir and Vice-President Riek Machar,which has escalated into open military conflict. It was stated that the ongoing fighting in the north,alongside the arrest of Machar and a rise in misinformation and hate speech,are heightening ethnic and political divisions,especially across social media platforms.

The 2013 and 2016 conflicts,which resulted in over 400,000 deaths,were invoked by Haysom as a cautionary example of the devastating consequences of political infighting. The fragile peace agreement signed in 2018 remains the only hope for resolving the ongoing conflict. However,its slow implementation,coupled with the delayed presidential elections set for 2026,has left the country on the brink of instability. Haysom emphasized the urgent need to focus efforts on accelerating the peace deal’s implementation to avert another full-scale conflict that could have dire consequences for South Sudan and its neighboring regions.

Diplomatic measures are being taken by the U.N. peacekeeping mission,which includes intensive discussions with the African Union,Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD),and the Vatican. The U.N. Secretary-General,Antonio Guterres,is also involved in these efforts to broker a peaceful resolution. The international community,through these coordinated diplomatic actions,aims to prevent South Sudan from once again experiencing the destructive violence that has plagued it in the past.