The United Nations Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS) has urged all parties to exercise restraint and uphold the 2018 peace agreement following renewed violence in the country.
Recent battles between the South Sudanese army and armed youth in Nassir town in Upper Nile State have left several people, including a UN peacekeeper, injured. Tensions in Western Equatoria State have also led to deaths, destruction of property and displacement.
UN Special Representative of the Secretary-General and Head of UNMISS Nicholas Haysom condemned attacks on peacekeepers, warning that such actions violate international law. He stressed the urgent need to fully deploy the necessary Combined Forces as set out in the peace agreement.
Haysom emphesized that the implementation of the peace agreement remains the only path to lasting stability, especially as South Sudan approaches another extension of its transitional period. The 2018 agreement ended years of civil war and led to the formation of a unity government in 2020, with President Salva Kiir and First Vice President Riek Machar sharing power.
Despite the progress, South Sudan has yet to hold national elections since gaining independence from Sudan in 2011. UNMISS continues to call for the swift implementation of the peace agreement to prevent further violence and instability.