Kenya on High Alert as UN Warns of Escalating Conflict in South Sudan

Kenya has been placed on high alert following escalating violence in South Sudan, as the United Nations Mission in South Sudan reports fresh attacks in parts of the East African nation.

In a statement on  Sunday, January 25, the United Nations said that more than 180,000 people have been displaced due to the fresh wave of conflict that is allegedly being catalysed by senior government officials.

According to the agency, despite South Sudan affirming its commitment to maintaining peace, hostilities and violations of ceasefire agreements continue.

The Sudan People's Liberation Army in Opposition (SPLA-IO) has attacked and captured several areas in Jonglei state, according to reports from the BBC.

In a statement on Sunday, South Sudan People's Defence Forces (SSPDF) spokesperson Lul Ruai Koang directed Jonglei residents to "immediately evacuate" areas controlled by the Sudan People's Liberation Army in Opposition (SPLA-IO)

"Communities in Jonglei and other parts of South Sudan are suffering immense harm from the escalating conflict, including direct military confrontations between forces aligned with the main parties to the peace agreement," the agency said.

“Inflammatory rhetoric calling for violence against civilians, including the most vulnerable, is utterly abhorrent and must stop now,” said Graham Maitland, the Officer in Charge of UNMISS.

Conflict broke out in South Sudan in 2013, two years after independence, when President Salva Kiir accused First Vice-President Riek Machar of planning to overthrow him.

Despite a peace deal being implemented in  2018, after a civil war that claimed the lives of nearly 400,000 people, the relationship between the two political figures remained strained, and the peace deal was never properly implemented.

In recent years, Kenya has been at the forefront of pushing for the full implementation of the peace deal.

As a key guarantor of the Revitalized Agreement on the Resolution of the Conflict in the Republic of South Sudan (R-ARCSS), Kenya plays a vital role in promoting dialogue, regional cooperation, and lasting peace in South Sudan.

Last year, President William Ruto revealed that he had engaged with South Sudan's president, Salva Kiir Mayardit, to help resolve the country's political deadlock.

"This morning, I spoke with President Salva Kiir Mayardit of South Sudan and First Vice-President Riek Machar about the escalating security situation in the country.”

''I implored both leaders to engage in dialogue towards fostering peace in the country even as the region works towards the stabilization of South Sudan under IGAD's Strategic Framework,'' Ruto shared in the statement.

Remains of the wrecked car that Richard Matiangi is said to have been travelling in during the ambush on July 30, 2025.

Source: https://www.kenyans.co.ke/news/120154-kenya-high-alert-un-warns-escalating-conflict-south-sudan