JUBA, Jan 27 - The government of South Sudan on Tuesday urged opposition forces to cease hostilities, warning that a rebel advance and ongoing clashes in Jonglei state have already forced large-scale displacement and risked rekindling civil war.
The confrontations, which pit government troops against fighters aligned with the Sudan People’s Liberation Army-in-Opposition (SPLA-IO), are occurring at a scale the United Nations says has not been seen since 2017. Authorities reported that their forces had pushed back rebel advances in Jonglei, a state that runs from the Ethiopian border to central South Sudan.
Information Minister and government spokesperson Ateny Wek Ateny described the military action in a statement as an effort to halt the rebel advance, restore public order, and safeguard civilians. "The ongoing security operation in Northern Jonglei State is a lawful and necessary measure aimed at halting the advance of rebel forces, restoring public order, and safeguarding civilians," he said. He added: "The Government calls upon the SPLM/A in Opposition to immediately cease hostilities... Any actions that undermine the (2018) Agreement pose a serious threat to peace and jeopardize the ongoing transitional process."
In preparation for its operation against opposition elements, South Sudan's military on Sunday ordered all civilians and staff from the U.N. Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS) and other charities to evacuate three counties in Jonglei. The evacuation order preceded the government's announced security operation.
A spokesman for U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said the mission had shared concerns that the fighting could put hundreds of thousands of civilians at risk. He also cautioned that "the mission also warns that escalating hate speech is fuelling ethnic tensions and risks drawing civilian communities into the conflict."
UNMISS reported on Sunday that at least 180,000 people in Jonglei had already been displaced by the fighting.
The violence follows a prolonged period of civil war from 2013 to 2018 between forces loyal to President Salva Kiir and those aligned with his former vice president, Riek Machar. That conflict, fought largely along ethnic lines, resulted in about 400,000 deaths.
Machar is currently facing a treason trial after an ethnic militia with historic ties to the SPLA-IO overran an army base in the northeastern town of Nasir last year. He has denied the charges.
As the government frames its operations as necessary for civilian protection and the restoration of order, international agencies have underscored the humanitarian consequences. The situation in Jonglei remains fluid, with displacement figures and the scope of the military campaign cited by officials and U.N. representatives shaping concerns over the durability of the country's transitional process.