The United States has ordered the departure of all non-emergency staff from South Sudan as violence escalates in the country, threatening the already fragile peace agreement between President Salva Kiir and Vice-President Riek Machar.
In recent days, fighting has intensified between various political and ethnic groups, raising concerns over the stability of the peace deal signed by Kiir and Machar in 2018. The agreement, which ended a five-year civil war that claimed hundreds of thousands of lives, has faced challenges as tensions between the two leaders remain high.
On Sunday, March 8, 2025, the US State Department issued a statement saying that ongoing fighting and the availability of weapons to the general population had prompted the decision to withdraw non-essential personnel. The department noted that the situation posed significant risks to their safety.
“The violence continues in South Sudan, with weapons widely accessible among the population,” the State Department stated. “Given the risks, we have ordered the departure of non-emergency US government employees from the country.”
The UN Human Rights Commission for South Sudan also expressed concern over an alarming regression in peace efforts. On Saturday, it warned that the violence could undo years of progress toward lasting peace.
In the face of these challenges, President Kiir has called for calm and assured the nation that the country would not return to war. However, tensions have continued to rise.
On Friday, a UN helicopter, which had been evacuating members of the national army, was shot at, resulting in the deaths of several people, including one crew member.
Earlier in the week, South Sudan’s security forces arrested the deputy chief of the army and two ministers allied with Machar. These arrests were condemned by opposition spokespeople, who called them a “grave violation” of the peace agreement.
The arrests followed violent clashes between government forces and a militia group known as the White Army, which fought alongside Machar during the civil war. These clashes took place in Upper Nile state, adding to the growing concerns over the implementation of the peace deal.
South Sudan, which gained independence from Sudan in 2011, has faced immense challenges since. Just two years after its birth, a rift between Kiir and Machar plunged the nation into a brutal civil war, killing over 400,000 people.
While the 2018 power-sharing agreement between Kiir and Machar helped stop the fighting, many crucial aspects of the deal, such as the creation of a new constitution, elections, and the reunification of armed groups into a single national army, have yet to be fully implemented. In the meantime, sporadic violence continues in various parts of the country, further complicating efforts toward peace and stability.
