The United Nations announced on Friday that more than 1,800 civilians were killed in South Sudan between January and September, describing the country as "on the brink of collapse" amid sharply escalating political tensions.
The indictment of former Vice President Riek Machar on September 11 on charges of murder, treason, and crimes against humanity, followed by his dismissal from office by presidential decree just hours later, raises fears of a new conflict nearly seven years after the end of the civil war between his supporters and those of President Salva Kiir, which killed at least 400,000 people between 2013 and 2018.
A peace agreement signed in 2018 ended the bloody conflict and stipulated power-sharing between the two sides. However, Machar's supporters, following his indictment, called for military mobilization to achieve "regime change" in South Sudan, which gained independence from Sudan in 2011.
According to a statement issued by the UN Human Rights Office, at least 1,854 people were killed, 1,693 injured, 423 disappeared, and 169 suffered sexual violence in the context of the conflicts witnessed in the country during the first nine months of 2025.
This represents a 59% increase in the number of documented victims compared to the same period last year. The actual numbers are likely to be much higher due to the difficulty of verifying incidents of violence due to the deteriorating security situation, according to the same source.
"This is unacceptable and must stop," said UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk in the statement, expressing his "deep concern about the situation of civilians in South Sudan."
Türk called on South Sudan's leaders and the international community to "do everything in their power to pull the country back from the brink of collapse."
Clashes have escalated significantly since March, when the South Sudanese army launched "indiscriminate" airstrikes on populated areas in several states, according to the statement.
Community violence has also increased with the escalation of clan and ethnic clashes, particularly in Warrap (north) and Jonglei (central) states, leading to a 33% increase in civilian casualties.
The United Nations also reported at least 45 extrajudicial killings carried out by security forces since the beginning of the year.
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