Tue Feb 18 11:08:04 UTC 2025: ## Deadly Clashes Erupt in South Sudan, UN Peacekeeper Injured
**JUBA, South Sudan (February 18, 2025)** – Deadly clashes between South Sudan’s People’s Defence Forces (SSPDF) and unidentified armed youth have erupted in Nasir, Upper Nile state, leaving civilians dead and a UN peacekeeper wounded, the UN Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS) reported today.
The fighting, which took place on February 14th and 15th, involved the use of heavy weaponry, according to UNMISS. While the exact casualty figures remain undisclosed, the statement confirmed civilian and military casualties, along with injuries sustained by a UN peacekeeper during a mortar shelling incident while on patrol.
UN Special Representative Nicholas Haysom issued a strong condemnation of the violence, urging all parties to immediately cease hostilities and restore calm. He emphasized that attacks on UN peacekeepers constitute a violation of international law.
Concerns also extend to Western Equatoria state, where persistent tensions between organized forces are reported, though details remain scarce. Haysom highlighted the ongoing instability as underscoring the urgent need for the full deployment of South Sudan’s unified armed forces, a key provision of the 2018 peace agreement that has yet to be fully implemented.
The renewed violence casts a shadow over the fragile peace in South Sudan, a nation grappling with instability since its independence in 2011. The country is still recovering from a brutal five-year civil war, and the delayed unification of its armed forces remains a significant obstacle to lasting stability. The UN continues to monitor the situation closely and calls for a swift resolution to prevent further escalation.
First Piper 