South Sudan bombs opposition area in major escalation
War fears grow as Ugandan army moves heavy equipment across border
Graphic Content Warning: This post contains images of burn victims.
Ignoring appeals to deescalate — including messages from the Pope and other religious leaders, foreign embassies, and East African bloc IGAD — the South Sudanese government has bombed Nasir, an opposition-controlled area.
Incendiary bombs landed around the town’s dirt airstrip, burning homes, trees, and brush, and causing civilian deaths and injuries. Separately, a helicopter gunship attacked Longechuk County, which neighbors Nasir to the north.
The attacks risk tipping South Sudan into the abyss of a new civil war, which would be the country’s second nationwide conflict since its independence in 2011. The country’s northern neighbor, the Republic of Sudan, is already nearly two years into its own civil war, and the two conflicts, though separate, risk becoming intertwined.
“Today South Sudan has reached a new low, bombardment of their own people as they slept in their homes. As you look at the images of charred bodies of children, know that what is happening in Nasir will not stop there. What comes next will depend on the people of South Sudan.”
— International Aid Worker in South Sudan
The airstrikes on Nasir in Upper Nile State on the night of March 16-17 follow clashes between the opposition ‘White Army’ and the South Sudan People’s Defense Forces (SSPDF) earlier this month, which resulted in the killing and scattering an entire battalion, driving the SSPDF out of Nasir County.
The White Army are ethnic Nuer militias, which have close ties to the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement in Opposition (SPLM-IO), the main rebel group in the last civil war (2013-2018) and one of two main signatories to the fragile peace deal that ended that war, which was is now at a breaking point.
However, the White Army are not directly controlled by SPLM-IO. They are local militias organized generally along clan lines. They are called “White Army” (Jiëc in Bör in Nuer language) because of the white ash, made of burnt cow dung, which fighters smear on their bodies before battle. The ash is generally associated with the pastoralist lifestyle in South Sudan, and is a natural insect repellant.
Want to keep up with the latest security and political developments in Sudan and South Sudan? Sign up to receive 2-4 weekly emails containing maps, videos, fact-based reporting, and incisive insights from an independent perspective.
During the last civil war, Nasir was controlled by SPLM-IO, in alliance with the White Army. Additionally, during the Second Sudanese Civil War (1983-2005), Nasir was the headquarters of a rebel splinter faction launched in 1991 by Riek Machar, who is South Sudan’s current vice president.
Attacks on Nasir could have wider national effects, potentially inflaming ethnic tensions and factional differences within the fragile unity government.
The Nuer are one of the two largest ethnicities in South Sudan, next to the Dinka. The last civil war began when troops loyal to the president, a Dinka, massacred hundreds of Nuer in the capital city, Juba, sparking additional killings and reprisals elsewhere.
The death toll from the aerial attacks in Nasir reached at least 21 people, while others were wounded, including both adults and children who suffered severe burns, according to local officials. Nasir County Commissioner Gatluak Lew Thiep confirmed this toll in an interview with Radio Tamazuj, an independent broadcaster, saying the victims included at least two women and two children. He added that aerial bombardments also targeting Ngueny Boma in Koat Payam of Nasir County.
Additionally, at least one person died and eight others were injured in Longechuk County, where a helicopter gunship belonging to the South Sudan People’s Defense Forces carried out attacks, according to a local official.
It is unclear if there were any military casualties in the attacks. Opposition sources claimed that only civilians were affected.
Nasir residents said that chemical weapons were used against them, sharing images of partly melted green plastic drums labeled 'ethyl acetate.' Ethyl acetate is a commercial solvent and a highly flammable liquid. While not classified as a chemical weapon, it could serve as an accelerant in firebombing when ignited with explosives.
Images of civilian burn victims, including children, sparked widespread outrage among South Sudanese online. For example, Jok Madut Jok, a professor of anthropology, wrote on Facebook,
“In the wake of Nasir incident, some of us called for a calm, composed and well-planned approach to the crisis in Upper Nile. We wanted our country and government to act like one, a responsible government. The acts we are now seeing do not reflect the image of a country of laws and an even-handed government. Our condolences to the victims' families. This is a moment for collective outcry, to tell our government that we disapprove of these actions.”
Just days before the airstrikes in Upper Nile, the Papal Nuncio in South Sudan, Archbishop Séamus Horgan, met with both the president and first vice president, delivering letters from the ailing Pope Francis, who appealed to the political leaders to prioritize peace, reconciliation, and development.
Similarly, East African leaders convened an emergency summit, chaired by Djibouti’s President Ismaïl Omar Guelleh. After meeting virtually, they issued a communiqué that “strongly urged the parties to immediately de-escalate tensions,” proposing several de-escalatory steps. Likewise, South Sudanese civil society, women’s activists, diplomats, and other concerned parties made similar statements.
These appeals evidently were ignored.
South Sudanese government confirms bombing
South Sudan’s Minister of Information Michael Makuei admitted that the government was responsible for the attack in Nasir, issuing a warning to the White Army to disperse. “Our Air Force have bombarded Nasir this morning — khalas kifaya [enough is enough],” he said during a press conference, adding, “The White Army or the Baath [Nuer] Defense Force—all these are negative forces and should be declared a terrorist organization. Their actions qualify them to be declared terrorist organizations.”
Despite Makuei’s claim of responsibility, some opposition sources asserted that the Ugandan Air Force was responsible for the airstrikes in Nasir, specifically an Antonov cargo plane, acting in coordination with South Sudan’s military.
General Muhoozi Kainerugaba the Chief of the Ugandan People’s Defense Forces, hinted at involvement in a social media post, writing, “Our mission in South Sudan has just began [sic]. I want to offer the ‘White Army’ an opportunity to surrender to UPDF before it’s too late. We seek brotherhood and unity. But if you dare to fight us you will all die!” This message was published on X (formerly Twitter) just after midnight on March 16, shortly after the airstrikes were reported to have begun.
Makuei, who played an incendiary role in the last civil war, issued threats against the White Army, ordering them to vacate Nasir:
“I’m appealing from here to all the White Army to go back to their home areas and to their luaks [homes]… The White Army is advised to vacate Nasir as of now. All the assembly areas of the White Army must be cleared. If you continue to stay in those areas, then you are a negative force, and the necessary force will be used against you. This is a message to the White Army and all others who have got other names. For the Naath Defense Force [a pro-White Army group], which is now a declared rebellion, we will deal with them accordingly.”
Similarly, during a funeral on Friday for an SSPDF commander killed in Nasir two weeks ago, Defence Minister Gen. Chol Thon Balok vowed to retake Nasir.
According to opposition sources, SSPDF forces are assembling in neighboring Baliet County, presaging an attempted ground operation to reassert control of Nasir County.
Related Coverage:
South Sudan’s peace agreement, signed in 2018 by Machar and Kiir, is on the brink of collapse, according to Oyet Nathaniel Pierino, Deputy Chairman of SPLM-IO. In a statement published on Facebook on Saturday, he urged party members not to travel to the capital Juba, citing harassment and arrests.
He said the peace deal, known as the R-ARCSS, "has for the past two months come under sustained and systematic violations." In another statement this morning, he announced that SPLM-IO would immediately freeze participation in the security arrangements of the R-ARCSS, including the Joint Defense Board, Joint Military Ceasefire Committee, and others, pending release of political detainees.
Since the fighting in Nasir early this month, National Security agents have arrested a number of high-level SPLM-IO military and civil officials in Juba, or placed them under house arrest, blaming them for the violence in the northeastern state.
Vice President Riek Machar himself is under “confinement,” Oyet stated.
“The act of arresting and detaining a Signatory to the R-ARCSS and the ongoing political witch-hunts continue to threaten the very essence and the existence of the Revitalized Agreement. We once again call for immediate unconditional release of the political detainees and release of the First Vice President from any confinement,” he said.
Ugandan army deploys more troops across border
Following the deployment of Ugandan commandos to South Sudan’s capital, Juba, last week on chartered passenger flights, Uganda’s army has now moved additional forces into South Sudan by road. The country’s army chief, General Muhoozi Kainerugaba, has publicly vowed to support South Sudanese President Salva Kiir in any internal conflict.
South Sudan’s Minister of Information, Michael Makuei, confirmed the presence of Ugandan People’s Defense Forces (UPDF) troops but claimed they are not combat units. “The UPDF that arrived here in Juba are support units and technical units. They have come to support their brothers and sisters in the SSPDF,” he stated.
However, videos circulating on social media show a large Ugandan military convoy moving north into South Sudan, including tanks and artillery, infantry units, and fuel trucks and logistics vehicles.
Uganda played a significant military role in South Sudan’s previous civil war, actively supporting Kiir’s forces against the SPLM-IO. This latest deployment suggests Uganda is again expecting conflict, and is moving preemptively to support Kiir.
Sudan has endured nearly two years of civil war and the wider region risks conflict as well, particularly neighboring South Sudan. Sudan War Monitor is committed to shining a light on these crises. If you have the means, please consider subscribing to support this effort. We’ve been able to sustain and grow this initiative thanks to a global network of supporters. Every subscription counts.