The United Nations Security Council has been warned that South Sudan is moving closer to renewed nationwide conflict and famine as its 2018 peace agreement unravels. During an emergency session on August 6, UN officials said fighting between rival factions had displaced communities, obstructed humanitarian supply routes and left millions facing acute food insecurity. They urged the country's leaders to halt hostilities and restore political dialogue before the crisis causes wider state collapse.
The warning centres on the power-sharing accord that ended a civil war between forces aligned with President Salva Kiir and his longtime rival Riek Machar. That war began in 2013, two years after South Sudan became independent, and killed more than 400,000 people before the 2018 agreement created a transitional government. The UN says mistrust, military mobilisation and repeated delays in completing the accord have erased much of its earlier progress.
UN briefers told the Council that insecurity is preventing aid workers from reaching vulnerable areas and disrupting markets and farming. Several communities already face catastrophic hunger, while displacement and violence have reduced families' ability to plant crops or obtain food. Humanitarian agencies also face funding shortages, damaged roads and threats against staff, making a rapid response harder even where supplies are available.
The political timetable adds urgency. South Sudan's authorities have pledged elections in December 2026 after earlier postponements, but the UN says credible voting requires a ceasefire, inclusive negotiations, functioning institutions and basic security. Officials cautioned that an election held without those conditions could intensify competition between armed groups instead of giving citizens a peaceful route to choose their government.
The Security Council renewed the UN peacekeeping mission in April while reducing its authorised troop ceiling from 17,000 to 12,000. The mission retains responsibilities for protecting civilians, supporting humanitarian access and helping prevent a return to civil war. UN officials said regional bodies, including the African Union and the Intergovernmental Authority on Development, must work with South Sudanese parties to revive the peace process.
No binding settlement emerged from the emergency discussion. The immediate tests are whether the parties stop military operations, permit safe and unhindered aid deliveries, and resume implementation of the 2018 accord. The UN warned that delay would expose more civilians to hunger and violence, while meaningful dialogue could still preserve the transition and prevent instability from spreading across an already fragile region.
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