Armed clashes and aerial bombardments have killed more than 180 people, injured over 250 others and displaced an estimated 125,000 in South Sudan since March 2025, the United Nations said.
In a statement Tuesday, the U.N. said the violence had killed four humanitarian workers and forced six health facilities to shut down due to looting and destruction.
The U.N. expressed deep concern over the rapidly escalating violence and reiterated its call for the protection of civilians and immediate, unimpeded access to lifesaving humanitarian aid.
It quoted Anita Kiki Gbeho, the humanitarian coordinator for South Sudan, who recently visited Malakal, the capital of Upper Nile State. She said she heard firsthand accounts of the violence’s impact on civilians.
While in Malakal, Gbeho met with conflict-affected communities, the governor of Upper Nile State, U.N. agencies, nongovernmental organizations and civil society representatives to assess the humanitarian situation and coordinate the response. She also visited a cholera treatment center.
Gbeho warned that the surge in violence must stop, coming at a time when humanitarian funding is dwindling and urgent needs are rising — not only in Upper Nile but across South Sudan.
“All actors involved in the violence must refrain from harming the population — including humanitarian personnel who risk their lives every day to deliver aid,” Gbeho said.
As recently as Monday, services at Ulang Hospital — a lifeline for 174,000 people — were suspended after extensive looting of several facilities in the area. Humanitarian access remains restricted, and critical medical supplies are running out amid a cholera outbreak that has killed 919 people and infected nearly 49,000.
The 2025 Humanitarian Response Plan for South Sudan is only 12.6% funded.