ICRC: South Sudan civilians pay a high price as conflict intensifies

South Sudan Red Cross Society volunteers take care of one of three siblings injured by gunshots, who are being evacuated by an ICRC plane, together with their mother, in Torit County. (ICRC photo)

Civilians are increasingly bearing the brunt of the renewed fighting across South Sudan since late 2025, marking the most intense escalation in nearly a year, particularly in Jonglei, Eastern, and Central Equatoria states, the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) said on Tuesday.

An operational update extended to Radio Tamazuj says tens of thousands of people have been forced to flee their homes amid intense hostilities through flooded wetlands, leaving them uncertain where their next meal will come from and exposing them to disease.

“Their main concerns now are finding a safe place to shelter, accessing food, and obtaining basic medical care,” the update said in part. “Meanwhile, dozens of patients wounded in the fighting are at risk due to the lack of reliable access to emergency, life-saving medical care.”

Gatkuoth Ruach, who fled his home in Jonglei State in January 2026 and found refuge together with his six children in Panyikang County, Upper Nile State, said when the fighting erupted, they ran far from the battlefield, crossing streams and swamps until they reached a small area of dry land.

“We survived on water lilies and wild fruits. The journey was extremely difficult and exhausting, moving through floodwaters, enduring mosquito bites, and suffering from a lack of food, among many other hardships,” he recounted. “Many people developed severe sores on their feet and sustained injuries from sharp grass.”

ICRC said that to respond to the spiraling humanitarian needs, it has, among other life-saving activities, urgently deployed a temporary surgical team to Panyijar County, Unity State, to deliver emergency surgical care to critically-wounded patients who would otherwise have no access to such treatment.

“Panyijar is a remote area with extremely limited resources and facing multiple challenges, such as lack of electricity and water supply to the hospital,” explained Dr. Aktham Elfarnawany, ICRC anaesthetist. “However, we adapted to the
resources available, prioritizing measures to save people’s lives and limbs.”

“We worked closely with the local health staff of Panyijar County Hospital, combining their local knowledge with our technical support to ensure effective and sustainable care,” he added.

The ICRC says since the intensification of the conflict in December 2025, it has conducted more than 600 surgeries on patients with weapon wounds arriving in Juba Military Hospital and Panyijar County Hospital, while facilitating the transfer of some 110 wounded patients from remote locations.

“While access continues to be constrained in certain areas of South Sudan, the ICRC continues to remotely support Akobo County hospital in its provision of life-saving surgical care to the wounded,” the update said. “In this regard, we recently sent critical medicine and medical supplies to this hospital, where wounded have arrived in large numbers in recent weeks.”

The ICRC reminded all parties to the conflict of their obligations under international humanitarian law (IHL), particularly those concerning the protection of medical missions and humanitarian access.

“Hospitals, health care centers, medical personnel, including rescue workers, and ambulances must not be the object of attacks or other interferences,” ICRC stated. “Rapid and unimpeded passage of humanitarian relief should be allowed for civilians in need, and access to life-saving care for the wounded and sick should be granted and facilitated without any adverse distinction.”

The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) is a neutral, impartial, and independent organization with an exclusively humanitarian mandate that stems from the Geneva Conventions of 1949. It helps people around the world affected by armed conflict and other violence, doing everything it can to protect their lives and dignity and to relieve their suffering, often alongside its Red Cross and Red Crescent partners.