The United States has directed its non-emergency government personnel to leave South Sudan due to escalating security risks, the State Department announced on Sunday.
The decision follows growing instability, marked by armed clashes between political and ethnic factions. The State Department warned that weapons are widely accessible in the country and that violent crimes such as carjackings, shootings, ambushes, robberies, and kidnappings are common, even in the capital, Juba.
Tensions have surged following the recent detention of two ministers and several senior military officials aligned with First Vice President Riek Machar by forces loyal to President Salva Kiir. The arrests have intensified fears over the fragile 2018 peace agreement, which ended a five-year civil war that claimed nearly 400,000 lives.
The United Nations has raised alarms about the deteriorating security situation, cautioning that the increased violence threatens South Sudan’s peace process. The African Union also condemned the escalating hostilities, urging an immediate end to the violence.
Journalists and U.S. government personnel face heightened dangers, with embassy staff subject to strict curfews and required to use armored vehicles for most movements.
The volatile situation was further underscored by a recent attack on a UN helicopter attempting to evacuate personnel from Nasir. The incident, which resulted in the deaths of a general and several soldiers, was strongly condemned by the UN as “utterly reprehensible” and potentially a war crime.