Author: The South Sudan Herald

Mandate Prolonged to 2026 The United Nations Security Council voted 12–0 on Friday to prolong the UN Interim Security Force for Abyei until November 2026, after Russia, China and Pakistan abstained. Benchmarks for Future Extensions Washington’s draft underscores that any further stay relies on “clear, measurable progress” by Khartoum and Juba, including a joint police unit and full demilitarisation of the contested border enclave, commitments first agreed in 2011. Urging “all unauthorised armed forces to withdraw” and calling for regular meetings of the Joint Political and Security Mechanism, the text sets a practical checklist observers say could finally unlock Abyei’s…

Gunfire Echoes Across Yambio Town Residents of Napere, Masia and central Yambio described a relentless volley of shots stretching from late Saturday into dawn, jolting households and forcing many to lie low behind locked doors and dimmed lamps. Non-stop bursts pierced the night sky, witnesses said, fraying already delicate nerves. The capital of Western Equatoria State has experienced sporadic unrest in recent months, yet locals say the sheer duration of this shooting felt unprecedented, prompting frantic calls to security hotlines and relatives elsewhere. Hospital Confirms Two Fatalities At daybreak, two bodies bearing gunshot wounds arrived at Yambio State Hospital, according…

Arrest After Viral Livestream Amath Jok, 33, known across South Sudan for satire in Dinka, was seized by National Security Service officers four days after calling President Salva Kiir “a big thief wearing a hat” during a TikTok broadcast on 10 November. Agents detained the comedian in Juba’s Thongpiny suburb as she returned from a salon, igniting fresh debate on the limits of online speech in the world’s youngest nation. Terms of Release Raise Questions Radio Tamazuj quoted a relative saying Jok walked free Friday evening “healthy” yet effectively under house arrest; she may not access any social media platform,…

Gunfire Erupts Across Yambio The first gunshots rattled Yambio at about 7:30 p.m. on Saturday, sweeping through Napere, Masia, Ikpiro and the town centre. Residents reported continuous bursts that lasted deep into the night, a rare intensity even for a region familiar with occasional insecurity. Human Toll and Hospital Strain By dawn, Yambio State Hospital had received two bodies bearing gunshot wounds and four wounded civilians, Medical Director Dr. Konjo Samuel confirmed. “Some patients are critical and under observation,” he told Sudans Post, adding that trauma supplies were stretched by the sudden influx. Looting Adds Economic Pain While volleys echoed,…

Rallying Youth Against Digital Flames Joseph Wani Kute, Director-General for Culture, Youth and Sports in Eastern Equatoria, urged young residents to treat hate speech and disinformation as sparks that can ignite wider conflict. Speaking at the workshop’s close in Torit, he framed the digital battlefield as pivotal to South Sudan’s broader quest for durable peace. Government and NGO Partnership in Action The Support Peace Initiative Development Organization, led by Wodcan Saviour Lazarus, teamed up with the state ministry, KOICA, and UNDP to fund and deliver the training. Lazarus stressed that collaboration is essential because youth, who form the majority, are…

Spike in Watery Diarrhea Hits Tonj North Tonj North County, Warrap State, has recorded about 700 diarrhea cases between October and November 2025, health director Angelo Deec Chol confirmed. The surge, mainly affecting children under five, has placed primary facilities Rum-abuth and Abuuth Ngok at the centre of an urgent public-health response. Link to Sanitation Challenges Chol attributes the rise to persistent open defecation and limited latrine coverage, noting that contaminated surfaces and water amplify transmission. He warned that without rapid sanitation upgrades, the situation could escalate toward cholera, a seasonal threat in the broader Nile-Bahr el Ghazal corridor. Prevention…

Lake Victoria Crisis Draws EAC Warning Deputy Secretary General for Infrastructure, Productive, Social and Political Sectors Andrea Ariik cautioned delegates at a COP30 side forum that Lake Victoria risks irreversible damage unless partner states adopt urgent, coordinated remedies. Stark Environmental Data Unveiled The newly launched State of the Basin Report cites untreated wastewater, industrial effluent, agricultural runoff, sedimentation and climate shocks as converging threats that have driven water quality downward and fish stocks to historic lows across the 68,800-square-kilometre lake. Human Cost of Declining Waters More than 45 million residents rely on the basin for drinking water, transport, energy and…

Dawn Raid Shatters Morning Calm Residents of Aduong Payam awoke at 5:30 a.m. on 14 November to gunfire erupting from every compass point, authorities report. Commissioner Joseph Deng says armed men, allegedly from neighboring Ulang County, stormed homes, fired indiscriminately and scattered livestock. Eyewitness Reports and Rising Casualties Initial tallies quoted 57 fatalities, yet updated counts now place the death toll at 66, including two community chiefs, children and elders. Local clinics struggled to stabilise 65 wounded people; 29 are critical and have been airlifted to Malakal for surgery, Deng confirms. Humanitarian Fallout and Displacement Aid agencies shuttled between flooded…

Fuel as Battlefield Asset Across North-East Africa, refined fuel now wields the leverage once reserved for foreign currency. Since April 2023, the Rapid Support Forces drive on diesel ferried from Libya’s Kufra corridor, turning access to pumps into a bargaining chip at cease-fire talks. Tracing the Convoys Satellite snapshots, customs files and driver interviews reviewed by watchdog The Sentry reveal blue 200-litre jerrycans leaving Jufra airbase and reappearing near El-Fasher within thirty-six hours. At late-October peaks, corridors carried an estimated 1.8 million litres of subsidised Libyan fuel every week. The Emirati Connection Investigators describe a reciprocal circuit linking Abu Dhabi…

Background of the Claim Aweil’s quiet political corridors turned lively this week after former revenue commissioner Michael Akol Wek accused Northern Bahr el Ghazal Governor Simon Ober Mawut of defaulting on a private debt dating back nearly two decades. Debt Dispute Reaches Public Arena Akol says the pair verbally agreed that cash advanced during a 2004 leadership transition would be reimbursed from future personal earnings, not state coffers, a claim contested by officials close to the governor. He publicised the grievance through social media posts portraying the governor as unresponsive, a move that drew attention across Aweil’s politically engaged youth…