UN, April 16. /TASS/. More than 180 people have lost their lives and over 250 others sustained injuries in South Sudan since March 2025 amid intensifying armed confrontations and airstrikes, while nearly 125,000 civilians have been uprooted from their homes due to the violence, the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) reported.
"The United Nations is deeply concerned by the rapidly escalating violence in South Sudan and reiterates its urgent call for the protection of the population and immediate, unimpeded access to lifesaving humanitarian aid," it said in a statement.
"Since March 2025, armed clashes and aerial bombardments have killed more than 180 people, injured over 250 others, and displaced an estimated 125,000 people. The violence has also claimed the lives of four humanitarian workers, and six health facilities have been forced to shut down due to looting and destruction."
OCHA added that on April 14, operations at Ulang Hospital — a critical facility serving 174,000 residents — were halted following widespread looting of several sites nearby. "Humanitarian access remains restricted, and critical medical supplies are rapidly running out amid an ongoing cholera outbreak that has already claimed 919 lives and infected nearly 49,000 people in South Sudan," it stated.
Humanitarian Coordinator for South Sudan Anita Kiki Gbeho, who visited Malakal, the capital of Upper Nile State, on April 15, urged everyone "involved in the violence to refrain from harming the population— including humanitarian personnel who risk their lives every day to deliver aid."
Gbeho emphasized that the crisis unfolds as funding for relief efforts is shrinking while humanitarian needs surge — not only in Upper Nile but across the country. "Today, 9.3 million people across the country require assistance," she said.
During her visit, Gbeho met with communities affected by the fighting, the Upper Nile State governor, UN representatives, NGOs, and civil society groups to evaluate the humanitarian landscape and coordinate relief strategies.
The 2025 Humanitarian Response Plan for South Sudan is currently only 12.6% financed. The compounded effects of war, hunger, disease, economic turmoil, climate events, and neighboring Sudan’s instability are driving a profound humanitarian disaster.
With the rainy season approaching and the cholera epidemic worsening, OCHA stressed the urgent necessity for unimpeded access to at-risk populations and prompt delivery of life-saving supplies.