Around 300,000 South Sudanese fled country in 2025, largely due to conflict: UN

NAIROBI: Around 300,000 South Sudanese have fled the country in 2025 alone, largely due to escalating conflict, the UN Commission on Human Rights said on Monday.

South Sudan has been beset by political instability and ethnic violence since it gained independence from Sudan in 2011.

A fragile power-sharing agreement between President Salva Kiir and his first vice-president Riek Machar, suspended last month, has been unravelling for months in the world's youngest country.

"Armed clashes are occurring on a scale not seen since a cessation of hostilities was signed in 2017, with civilians bearing the brunt of human rights violations and displacements," the United Nations said in a statement.

"Women remain disproportionately affected, bearing the greatest burdens and risks of forcible displacement," the statement continued.

The Commission's chairman, Yasmin Sooka, blamed the crisis on the "deliberate choices" of South Sudanese leaders, saying they have "put their interests above those of their people".