United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said on Friday that a peace agreement in South Sudan was in a shambles, telling the country's leaders to put down the weapons and put all the people of South Sudan first.
UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres makes comments on the security situation in South South Sudan, in New York City, U.S., March 28, 2025. Reuters/Caitlin Ochs
United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said on Friday that a peace agreement in South Sudan was in a shambles, telling the country's leaders to put down the weapons and put all the people of South Sudan first.
"Let's not mince words: What we are seeing is darkly reminiscent of the 2013 and 2016 civil wars, which killed 400,000 people," Guterres told reporters.
First Vice President Riek Machar was put under house arrest in the capital Juba on Wednesday, in effect voiding a 2018 peace deal that ended a five-year civil war and brought Machar and President Salva Kiir into a fragile power-sharing government.
On Friday, the information minister accused Machar of seeking to launch a rebellion against the government.
"All the dark clouds of a perfect storm have descended upon the people of the world's newest country – and one of the poorest," said Guterres, listing a security emergency, political upheaval, "a humanitarian nightmare", a displacement and funding crisis and an economic meltdown.
"Meanwhile, ethnic and political targeting by security forces – coupled with the spread of misinformation on social media – is lighting the fuse for even worse," he added.
The U.N. Mission in South Sudan "is working around the clock to ease tensions – engaging all parties and boosting protection of civilians," Guterres said.
By Michelle Nichols
Human Rights Watch has accused an Abu Dhabi-based security company of recruiting Colombian private military contractors and deploying them to fight alongside Sudan's Rapid Support Forces (RSF) between 2024 and 2025, adding to what the rights group describes as a growing body of evidence of Emirati military support for the paramilitary group.
Farmers across Sudan say the hike in global fuel and fertilizer costs resulting from the Iran conflict will force them to cut back on planting this summer, restricting food production in a country where war has caused acute hunger.
The United Nations human rights chief warned on Monday that widening and intensifying violence in Sudan, as well as the rising use of drones, could lead to more death and displacement.
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