The Special Representative of the Secretary-General and head of the United Nations Mission in South Sudan has said the political and security situation has significantly deteriorated since the White Army overran barracks previously occupied by the South Sudan People’s Defence Forces (SSPDF) in Nasir on 4 March.
Nicholas Haysom made the revelation on Monday while giving a media briefing and said that in retaliation, communities across Upper Nile are being subjected to persistent aerial bombardment using devices, barrel bombs, allegedly containing a highly flammable liquid that acts as an accelerant on explosion.
“These indiscriminate attacks on civilians are causing significant casualties and horrific injuries, especially burns, including to women and children. Our humanitarian partners assess that at least 63,000 people have fled the area,” he said. “We are receiving reports of further mobilization of White Army and SSPDF forces in Upper Nile, allegedly including children forcibly recruited into the ranks of the respective armed formations. This, in addition to the deployment of foreign forces at the request of the South Sudan government, is further fueling fear and anxiety across the country.”
“On the political front, some senior military and civilian officials affiliated with the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement in Opposition (SPLM-IO) have been replaced or removed from their official positions while others have been detained, gone into hiding, or fled the country,” Haysom added.
He said that rampant misinformation, disinformation, and hate speech is also ratcheting up tensions and driving ethnic divisions and fear.
“Given this grim situation, we are left with no other conclusion but to assess that South Sudan is teetering on the edge of a relapse into civil war. To try and prevent this outcome, UNMISS is engaging in intense shuttle diplomacy, alongside international and regional peace partners, including the African Union (AU), the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD), and the Reconstituted Joint Monitoring and Evaluation Commission (RJMEC),” Haysom said. “This Quartet held an urgent meeting today to explore further steps that can be taken to convince the parties to pull back from the brink. The region and the international community have also been actively engaged. As you know, the Security Council and the African Union Peace and Security Council both met last week. Earlier, IGAD met at the Heads of State, Summit level, and decided to dispatch a Ministerial subcommittee to Juba to mediate and lend support to the parties to return to the Revitalized Peace Agreement.”
“Unfortunately, a high-level visit by IGAD foreign ministers to Juba today was postponed to 3 April by the Government at the last minute, and without explanation. This is a disappointing development at a time when diplomatic outreach is more important than ever,” he added.
According to the UNMISS Chief, the efforts of the international community to broker a peaceful solution can only succeed if the parties themselves are willing to engage and put the interests of their people ahead of their own. The alternative is a slide into conflict that would erase all the hard-won gains since the 2018 peace deal was signed. It would devastate not only South Sudan, but the entire region, which cannot afford another war.
“The collective message of the region and the international community is the same. We remain convinced that there is only one way out of the cycle of conflict and that is to return to the Revitalized Peace Agreement, in letter and spirit,” Haysom stated. “This includes strict adherence to the ceasefire, the release of detained officials or their treatment in accordance with legal process, an immediate return to consensus-based decision-making, and the resolution of tensions through dialogue rather than military confrontation.”
“We also encourage the President and First Vice President to meet to resolve their differences constructively and make a joint public statement that reassures all South Sudanese of their united, steadfast commitment to peace,” he added.
Haysom said the time for action is now because the alternative is too terrible to contemplate.