South Sudan Army Attacks Displace Thousands in Nasir

A guard of South Sudan People's Defence Forces (SSPDF) in Malakal, November 21, 2022 (© 2022 Samir Bol/AFP via Getty Images)

An alarming surge of violence in South Sudan’s Nasir County, Upper Nile State, is putting communities at risk and threatening to plunge the region into deeper crisis.

Political violence between South Sudan People’s Defense Forces (SSPDF) and armed youth in Nasir has been ongoing since early 2024. Fighting began anew on February 14, 2025, when the SSPDF attacked civilians in a market place, leading to a series of armed confrontations with local youth that left thousands displaced and scores injured, including a peacekeeper. The army is engaged in an ongoing conflict with the armed group, the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement in Opposition (SPLA/IO).

The violence underscores the dangers of not addressing past abuses and the ongoing failure to implement key security arrangements outlined under South Sudan’s 2018 revitalized peace agreement. These include security sector reform, disarmament, and unification of forces from various armed groups. But political disagreements and non-implementation of the peace deal have left the country vulnerable and the lack of unified military forces has fueled clashes between government troops and local armed groups across the country.

Since last year, communities in Nasir have been calling for the deployment of a unified force rather than the existing national defense troops who have been implicated in abuses against civilians. Since February 22, however, the authorities have deployed troops including allied ethnic militias that have not been part of the formal unification process. Local youth, who feared forced disarmament and possible attacks, reacted by mobilizing. The army has denied reports that it planned to disarm the youth and accused the SPLA/IO of inciting young people to violence and fueling propaganda. Local leaders have called for dialog and a suspension of deployments. 

On February 25, SSPDF, while urging youth to disperse, launched airstrikes on SPLA/IO positions. The strikes also hit civilian areas, setting the stage for a dangerous escalation in the conflict. International humanitarian law prohibits indiscriminate or disproportionate attacks that fail to distinguish between military and civilian targets, with violations potentially constituting war crimes. 

The authorities should work to improve protection of civilians and rebuild trust between communities and SSPDF, which needs to include incorporating community perspectives into security plans and ending impunity for abuses. The international community should support all efforts at accountability. 

Without decisive action, civilians will continue to pay the highest price.

Source: https://www.hrw.org/news/2025/02/27/south-sudan-army-attacks-displace-thousands-nasir