The Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD), an eight-member regional bloc, will convene an extraordinary summit on Wednesday to address escalating tensions in South Sudan, the group said in a statement on Monday.
The 43rd Extraordinary Summit of Heads of State and Government will be held virtually on March 12, 2025, amid renewed violence in the country.
IGAD, which includes Ethiopia, Djibouti, Somalia, Sudan, Eritrea, South Sudan, Kenya, and Uganda, serves as a guarantor of South Sudan’s 2018 Revitalised Agreement on the Resolution of the Conflict (R-ARCSS).
The regional bloc is chaired by President Ismael Omar Guelleh of Djibouti.
“IGAD remains steadfast in its commitment to promoting dialogue, de-escalating tensions, and securing a peaceful future for the people of South Sudan,” the statement said.
The summit follows clashes last week in the town of Nasir, where the White Army—a loosely organized armed group—seized a military barracks. President Kiir’s camp accused the group of being linked to First Vice President Riek Machar, leader of the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement-In Opposition (SPLM-IO).
Tensions further escalated on Friday when a United Nations helicopter evacuating SSPDF soldiers came under fire, killing an army commander, a U.N. crew member, and others.
The violence comes after the arrest earlier last week of a deputy army chief and a minister allied with Machar. The SPLM-IO condemned the arrests as a “grave violation” of the 2018 peace deal, which ended a five-year civil war.
The peace agreement, signed by President Kiir and Machar, has faced significant challenges in implementation, particularly in forming a unified army.