An order by South Sudan’s Military to evacuate the Opposition-held city of Akobo earlier this month pushed an estimated 100,000 folks to flee throughout the border into Ethiopia. File
| Photograph Credit score: Reuters
An order by South Sudan’s military to evacuate the opposition-held city of Akobo earlier this month pushed an estimated 1,00,000 folks to flee throughout the border into Ethiopia, UNICEF stated Tuesday (March 17, 2026).
Akobo within the jap state of Jonglei is the newest flashpoint as preventing between the federal government and opposition has introduced South Sudan again to the brink of all-out civil warfare.
The military ordered an evacuation of the city, together with overseas assist companies, on March 6.
It claims to have since taken management of Akobo, although there have been conflicting experiences of occasions on the bottom, which have been unimaginable to confirm as a consequence of restricted communications.
A safety supply instructed AFP that the military had taken over the navy barracks in Akobo and destroyed buildings within the neighborhood to create a buffer zone, however no official report had but been issued.
The UN kids’s company stated “violence and battle are raging” throughout Jonglei, making a “deteriorating state of affairs for youngsters”.
“An estimated 100,000 folks have crossed the border into Ethiopia, and others have moved to safer areas in Jonglei and Higher Nile states,” UNICEF stated in a press release.
“All these receiving remedy in Akobo hospital — beforehand a secure haven for the sick and injured — have left. Experiences verify that the hospital has been looted and is now closed.”
It stated charges of malnutrition amongst displaced kids had been “worryingly excessive”.
Twenty-eight well being and vitamin amenities have been destroyed, looted or shut in Jonglei to date this yr, at a time when the area is dealing with a cholera outbreak, the company stated.
South Sudan gained independence in 2011 however quickly descended into civil warfare and stays mired in excessive poverty and corruption.
A 2018 power-sharing deal between President Salva Kiir and his long-time rival Riek Machar has been unravelling since early 2025, with clashes in a number of areas and fears of a return to full-blown warfare.
Printed – March 18, 2026 12:00 am IST