About 1,00,000 Displaced by South Sudan Offensive Seek Refuge in Ethiopia: UNICEF

London : According to UNICEF on Tuesday, an estimated 1,00,000 people fled across the border into Ethiopia after South Sudan’s army ordered the evacuation of the opposition-held town of Akobo earlier this month.

South Sudan to the verge of full-scale civil war

Fighting between the government and opposition has returned South Sudan to the verge of full-scale civil war, with Akobo in the eastern province of Jonglei being the most recent flashpoint.

On March 6, the army issued an order for all foreign humanitarian organisations to leave the town.

Although there have been conflicting accounts of events on the ground, which have been impossible to verify due to limited connections, it claims to have gained control of Akobo since then.

Although no formal report had yet been released, a security source told AFP that the army had taken over the military facilities in Akobo and demolished other structures to establish a buffer zone.

According to the UN children’s agency, “violence and conflict are raging” throughout Jonglei, resulting in a “deteriorating situation for children.”

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According to a UNICEF statement, “an estimated 100,000 people have crossed the border into Ethiopia, and others have moved to safer areas in Jonglei and Upper Nile states.”

“Everyone receiving care at Akobo Hospital, which was once a safe haven for the ill and injured, has departed. According to reports, the facility has been plundered and is currently shuttered.

Malnutrition rates among displaced children were described as “worryingly high.”

At a time when the area is experiencing a cholera outbreak, the organization reported that 28 health and nutrition facilities in Jonglei had been damaged, looted, or closed so far this year.

After gaining independence in 2011, South Sudan quickly entered a civil conflict and is now plagued by severe poverty and corruption.

Since early 2025, President Salva Kiir and his long-time antagonist Riek Machar’s 2018 power-sharing agreement has been falling apart due to conflicts in a number of provinces and concerns about a return to full-scale conflict.