Watchdogs appeal to Kiir to block military operation in Jonglei rebel stronghold

JUBA — A nationwide coalition of South Sudanese civil society groups on Saturday appealed directly to President Salva Kiir to halt an imminent military offensive in a rebel stronghold, warning the operation and the forced expulsion of U.N. peacekeepers will trigger a humanitarian disaster.

On Friday, the South Sudan People’s Defense Forces (SSPDF) Chief of Defense Forces issued a 72-hour ultimatum ordering the closure of the United Nations Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS) facility in Akobo County, Jonglei State. The directive also mandated the relocation of civilians from Akobo town and its surrounding areas.

In a joint press statement issued Saturday, a coalition of civil society networks representing the country’s 10 states and three administrative areas said the planned offensive against the opposition SPLA-IO violates the 2018 revitalized peace agreement.

The joint statement was signed by an umbrella of regional watchdogs, including the Jonglei Civil Society Network (JCSN), the Network for Civil Society Organizations in Western Equatoria State (NeCSOs), the Central Equatoria State Civil Society Network (CESCSN), and the Civil Society Organizations’ Network (CiSON) in Lakes State.

It was also backed by state-level civil society networks from Northern Bahr el Ghazal, Eastern Equatoria, Upper Nile, Warrap (WACSON), Unity (USCSN), and Ruweng (RCSN), alongside organizations representing the Greater Pibor and Abyei administrative areas.

The groups urged Kiir to urgently intervene and suspend the military order.

“This will open a chapter of political dialogue to amicably address the differences between the SPLM-IG and SPLM-IO in accordance with the spirit of R-ARCSS,” the coalition statement read. “This would save many lives, avoid fueling suffering of South Sudanese by fellow South Sudanese and allow Humanitarian agencies and UNMISS continue to provide the much-needed assistance.”

The watchdogs noted that recent military hostilities in northern Jonglei State—specifically in Uror, Ayod, Nyirol, and Duk counties—have already resulted in severe trauma, mass displacement, and the killing of civilians, primarily women, children, and the elderly.

The nationwide appeal amplifies fierce condemnation from prominent activist Edmund Yakani, Executive Director of the Community Empowerment for Progress Organization (CEPO), who earlier on Saturday urged UNMISS to defy the military’s expulsion order.

Yakani stated the U.N. peacekeeping mission operates under a Chapter VII mandate, which legally authorizes the use of military force beyond self-defense to protect civilians threatened by violence.

“UNMISS should not accept this. This is a Chapter 7 mission,” Yakani said in a separate statement. “If UNMISS succumbs to this, it will mark the beginning of the end of UNMISS in South Sudan and the protection of civilians.”

Akobo, located near the Ethiopian border, serves as a major stronghold for the SPLA-IO, led by First Vice President Riek Machar.

The sudden military ultimatum raises fears of a full-scale government offensive against opposition positions. Civil society leaders warned that prioritizing territorial gains over political dialogue threatens to collapse the country’s fragile transitional government and plunge the localized conflict into a broader civil war.

“Violence is never an acceptable undertaking to settle disputes under any circumstances,” the joint civil society statement added.