South Sudanese government forces have recaptured Nasir, a key town in Upper Nile State, marking a significant turn in the country’s deepening political crisis.
The army’s advance comes amid crumbling peace between President Salva Kiir and Vice-President Riek Machar, longtime rivals in a fragile power-sharing deal.
Nasir had become a flashpoint after being overrun in early March by an estimated 6,000 White Army fighters aligned with Machar’s Nuer ethnic faction.
The assault claimed the life of a senior army general and many soldiers, reigniting fears of a return to full-scale civil war.
Government forces, supported by Ugandan troops, launched a sustained offensive to retake the town and nearby Ulang, also held by Machar’s loyalists.
“The historical town of Nasir has been re-liberated,” army spokesman Lul Ruai Koang announced, signaling a push to reassert control in contested areas.
Clashes have intensified in recent weeks, with nearly 200 people killed and around 125,000 displaced, according to United Nations figures.
Machar, who was placed under house arrest in March, has seen several of his political and military allies detained amid widening crackdowns.
The 2018 peace agreement that ended a five-year civil war now appears on the brink of collapse as Kiir consolidates military and political power.
Human Rights Watch has accused the army of using improvised incendiary devices in Upper Nile State, killing nearly 60 civilians in recent operations.
With violence spreading and ethnic tensions rising, international observers warn that South Sudan stands once again at the edge of a humanitarian catastrophe.