Author: The South Sudan Herald

Drone Strike Triggers UN Evacuation United Nations trucks rolled out of Kadugli this week, sealing the gates of the mission’s main logistics hub after a deadly weekend assault. UN officials said the pull-out aims to shield staff and equipment from an increasingly volatile security environment. Saturday’s drone strike killed six Bangladeshi peacekeepers and wounded nine more, marking one of the heaviest single-day losses for the United Nations Interim Security Force for Abyei since its creation in 2011. Rapid Security Review and Decision After an emergency security assessment, mission leaders notified Sudanese authorities of an immediate evacuation, stating the attack had…

South Sudan Bar Association signals courtroom battle The South Sudan Bar Association has announced plans to ask the High Court to review recent traffic directives issued by Major General Kon John Akot, Director of Traffic Police, arguing that several orders clash with constitutional safeguards. “We are committed to upholding the rule of law,” chairperson Arop Malueth told delegates at the association’s General Assembly in Juba, announcing a Public Interest Litigation and Human Rights Committee that will open in January. Traffic Police directives under scrutiny On Monday the traffic authority banned right-hand-drive vehicles, tinted windows, and public vans whose sliding doors…

Peace Accord Amendments Spark Debate On Wednesday, South Sudan’s presidency endorsed amendments to the 2018 Revitalized Agreement on the Resolution of the Conflict, stripping out several pre-election milestones. The revisions move a national census to after polling day in December 2026 and compress other legal timetables. Opposition Voices Concerns Over Timeline Joseph Malwal Dong of the SPLM-IO argued that deleting core provisions risks turning the vote into what he called “a sham election” (Radio Tamazuj, 2026). He maintains that credible polls require a completed permanent constitution and broad consensus among signatories. Malwal underlined that party conventions to choose candidates have…

Dutch Funding Keeps Microphones On Eye Radio has wrapped up a six-month, $187,957 partnership with the Netherlands, marking a critical milestone for independent journalism in South Sudan and illustrating how strategic diplomacy can keep vital newsrooms on air. Agreement Details and Timeline Signed on 30 May by Eye Media chief Stephen Omiri and Dutch Ambassador Paul Tholen, the agreement ran from 1 June to 30 November 2025 under the banner “Boosting Independent Journalism and Promoting Freedom of Speech in South Sudan.” Bridging a Sudden Funding Gap Eye Radio had relied on volunteers after a global pause in US assistance left…

For years, South Sudan has struggled to convince international partners, investors and multilateral institutions that the country could move beyond conflict, opacity and systemic governance failures. Today, a new generation of leadership is beginning to change that perception. At the heart of this shift are two figures whose actions, rather than rhetoric, are redefining the credibility of the South Sudanese state: Dr. Chol Deng Thon Abel, Undersecretary of the Ministry of Petroleum, and Hon. Bak Barnaba Chol, Minister of Finance and Planning. Together, they embody a break with past practices and signal a return to probity, legitimacy and technical competence…

Sudanese Families Stream Across Rioriak Border Unity State officials confirmed the arrival of 762 Sudanese citizens in Rioriak payam after days of trekking through bush and flooded plains. The group represents the largest single inflow seen in the county since clashes flared in April 2023. Most newcomers hailed from Heglig, the oil hub straddling Sudan’s West Kordofan border. They say battles between the Rapid Support Forces and Sudanese Armed Forces rolled through villages, forcing families to flee at dawn with only documents and infants. Heglig’s Pipelines: Why the Town Matters Heglig processes up to 100,000 barrels daily for Sudan and…

Young Fighters Leave the Front Line in Nyirol In remote Lankien on Wednesday, SPLM-IO officials handed eight boys to the UN Mission in South Sudan after confirming they were under 18. Child Soldiers’ Journey from Gelachiel to Safety The youths had escaped an SSPDF training site in Gelachiel, Upper Nile, and surrendered to SPLM-IO authorities in Nyirol a few weeks earlier. County commissioner Peter Gatkuoth Koang said UNMISS verified each age before accepting the group; sixteen others were adults and remained behind. UNMISS Leads Family Reunification Effort UN child-protection officers flew the boys to Bor, where they receive counselling and…

German Partnership Delivers Modern Facility After twenty-one months of construction, Lainya County unveiled a modern agricultural cooperative store financed by Germany’s Federal Foreign Office in partnership with the NGOs ACROSS and Christian Blind Mission, marking a new chapter for farmers in Central Equatoria. The project, launched in March 2023, cost undisclosed but modest funds compared with its anticipated impact on produce handling, storage, and sales. Boosting Market Access for Smallholders Commissioner Robert John Lasu Morris says the store creates a single doorway to inputs such as seeds, tools, and fertilizers while offering a clean, secure outlet for maize, groundnuts, and…

Grassroots Peacebuilding Surge in Yambio Yambio town echoed with optimism after more than fifty youth leaders, women representatives and traditional chiefs completed an intensive one-day workshop on peacebuilding, organisers confirmed. Hosted by the Strategic Initiative for Women in the Horn of Africa, the session forms part of the project ‘From Dialogue to Leadership’, designed to sharpen community-level mediation and advocacy skills across Western Equatoria State. Skills Transfer Targets Conflict Hotspots Facilitators broke down conflict-resolution theory into practical exercises on dialogue circles, decisive yet inclusive decision-making, and evidence-based lobbying for local development. Such tools, trainers argued, can diffuse land disputes, cattle-raiding…

Women Rise in Boma National Park Across the wide savannahs of South Sudan’s Boma National Park, a quiet revolution is unfolding. Sixty Kabarze Women recently gathered to discuss how protecting wildlife can also reinforce social harmony, marking a milestone in community-led stewardship (Eye Radio, 2025). From Peacekeepers to Eco-Guardians The Kabarze movement emerged in 2017 when women intervened to calm age-set clashes around Pibor. Their credibility as peace negotiators now underpins a broader mission: curbing bush-meat hunting, illegal grazing and tree felling that jeopardize both household incomes and fragile habitats. Grass-roots Outreach Plans With technical backing from African Parks and…