South Sudan’s main opposition party, the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement-In-Opposition (SPLM-IO), is demanding an international investigation into alleged human rights abuses committed by government troops during recent fighting.The clashes have primarily occurred in the north, targeting areas with ties to the SPLM-IO’s leader, Riek Machar, who is currently under house arrest and accused of subversion.
Fighting escalated in March as government forces battled the “White Army,” a rebel militia widely believed to be allied with Machar. Dozens were reportedly killed when the rebels overran an army base in Nasir, a known Machar stronghold.Government troops responded with airstrikes and allegedly attacked opposition barracks near the capital, Juba.
SPLM-IO spokesman Pal Mai Deng called on the international community to investigate alleged “airstrikes using chemical weapons” in areas like Nasir, though he provided no further details. This statement follows a recent Human Rights Watch report accusing government forces of using air-dropped incendiary weapons in Upper Nile state. The rights group stated that these weapons have “killed and horrifically burned dozens of people, including children, and destroyed civilian infrastructure.”
Human Rights Watch emphasized that using such weapons in populated areas violates international humanitarian law and could constitute a war crime if done with criminal intent. The government has not yet responded to these allegations and had previously ordered civilians to evacuate Nasir. Alongside Machar’s detention, numerous allies of the opposition leader have also been arrested.
The ongoing conflict threatens the fragile 2018 peace agreement between Machar and President Salva Kiir, which aimed to end a five-year civil war that resulted in over 400,000 deaths.The political rivalry between Kiir and Machar is widely considered a significant impediment to lasting peace in South Sudan, which gained independence in 2011 but descended into civil war in December 2013 along ethnic lines.Presidential elections, repeatedly delayed, are currently scheduled for 2026.