Author: The South Sudan Herald

Surge of Displacement in Western Equatoria Community leaders say more than 30,000 people left their homes after military operations in Greater Mundri, Western Equatoria State, South Sudan. Families walked through dense forest to reach Lui town, seeking safety as gunfire echoed behind them. Displaced Families Seek Safety in Lui Sheltering inside churches and classrooms, mainly women, children and elderly survivors share scant food and sleep on bare floors. Local volunteers report that water points are overcrowded and clinics lack medicine, raising fears of malnutrition and disease outbreaks. Residents Accuse Soldiers of Looting Several residents accuse South Sudan People’s Defence Forces…

2025 Flood Emergency in South Sudan In October 2025 almost one million South Sudanese are stranded on muddy islands after swollen rivers submerged entire towns, from Bentiu to Bor. Yet in Juba, decision-makers debate budget lines rather than floodwalls, even though oil fields have earned roughly 20 billion dollars since 2005—income that could have financed defences, clinics and roads. Oil Wealth Versus Widespread Poverty World Bank projections suggest 92 percent of citizens may live below the poverty line in 2025, an incongruity for a state ranked third in sub-Saharan oil reserves. A UN review of the Oil for Roads scheme,…

Eastern Equatoria Tightens Mining Oversight Eastern Equatoria State in South Sudan has issued a sweeping directive barring foreign nationals from unlicensed mining and logging operations. The order, endorsed at the latest State Council of Ministers meeting, follows months of intelligence reports linking unauthorised extraction sites to rising insecurity around forest communities. Security Concerns Drive the Ban Information Minister John Elia Alhaji told reporters that armed groups have used isolated pits and logging camps as cover, jeopardising villagers and wildlife. He stressed, “No foreigner is allowed to conduct artisanal mining or any business in our forests without official authorization from the…

Civil Society Steps In Edmund Yakani, a prominent civil society advocate, plans to convene a new dialogue among signatories of South Sudan’s 2018 Revitalised Peace Agreement next month. He told Eye Radio the initiative answers citizens urging leaders to unblock the peace process before tensions slide back into full-scale conflict. Regional Tensions and Recent Clashes Warning notes from IGAD and the UN followed March clashes in Nasir between government forces and the SPLM/SPLA-IO, with intermittent skirmishes reported elsewhere since. Analysts fear unresolved disputes over security arrangements could reignite a conflict that already displaced millions. An Inclusive Roundtable Yakani says the…

Funeral Convoy Meets Checkpoint Tension Gunfire rattled Mapaw checkpoint on the Juba–Bor highway Sunday morning as a funeral convoy led by South Sudanese Information Minister Michael Makuei Lueth paused for routine inspection, witnesses told Radio Tamazuj. Eyewitnesses Describe Sudden Gunfire Relatives said a rear vehicle was asked for travel papers, where disagreement between National Security Service and Military Intelligence personnel escalated within seconds. “Gunshots erupted,” recounted Ayom Samuel, adding that the volley appeared rooted in miscommunication rather than hostility toward the mourners. Injuries Reported, Minister Confirmed Safe Two checkpoint soldiers sustained wounds, one described as critical by bystanders. No passengers…

DESSU Corridor Agreement A fresh ministerial accord is set to give East Africa its most ambitious infrastructure plan yet: the Djibouti-Ethiopia-South Sudan-Uganda, or DESSU, Corridor, expected to be sealed in Addis Ababa within weeks. Officials concluded the technical and political fine-tuning during meetings in Djibouti on 21-22 October 2025, before agreeing to form a Regional Transport Corridor Authority to steer engineering, legal, and financial milestones. South Sudan’s minister Simon Mijok Mijak called the link “a strategic lifeline that opens global markets, boosts mobility, and spreads opportunity across the Horn” (SSBC interview, 24 Oct 2025). Economic Stakes for Member States Ethiopia’s…

Police Account of the Fatal Night A commercial disagreement between two Eritrean traders in Wau, Western Bahr el Ghazal, escalated into lethal violence late Thursday night, leaving one man dead and another under arrest, according to state police. Major General Abednego Akol Ayuong said suspect Milion Mihaidab Ailai, 26, allegedly stabbed his 27-year-old partner, Tasfay Baragi, five times around 10:30 p.m. in Hai Jebel, where the pair operated a small retail outlet (Eye Radio report). Financial Tangle Behind the Stabbing Preliminary inquiries indicate the men had quarreled for months over a 21,000-dollar loan that Mihaidab claimed Baragi diverted to personal…

Defection Claims Stir Juba The capital woke to dramatic headlines after SSPDF spokesman Maj. Gen. Lul Ruai Koang announced that over 11,000 opposition fighters had crossed the aisle, pledging loyalty to President Salva Kiir during a ceremony in Pul-Turuk village on 25 October. SPLA-IO Voices Caution Col. Lam Paul Gabriel urged restraint, labeling the reports “sensitive” and declining immediate comment. “We are consulting and investigating to find out the real truth,” he told reporters, noting that no signed statements of departure had reached the movement’s headquarters. SSPDF Details Ceremony Ruai cited Brigade 1 commander Maj. Gen. Peter Gatkek Tolchieck, who…

Child Labour Report Unveiled in Juba At Juba’s Palm Africa Hotel, the Ministry of Labour unveiled a landmark study that paints a stark picture of child labour across South Sudan. The report finds exploitation still rampant despite existing legal protections. Officials Call for Robust Legal Enforcement Undersecretary Deng Kenjok stressed that properly enforcing the 2017 Labour Act and the 2009 Child Act is essential to reversing the crisis and meeting global conventions on children’s rights. “The wellbeing of our children is the wellbeing of our nation,” he told attendees, noting that poverty, displacement, and limited classrooms drive minors into street…

South Sudan-UAE Diplomatic Push President Salva Kiir boarded a presidential jet from Juba on Saturday, beginning his third official trip to the United Arab Emirates this year. State television showed Vice-President Benjamin Bol Mel and other ministers bidding him farewell on the runway. Press Secretary David Amuor Majur stated that Kiir will meet senior Emirati officials in Abu Dhabi to discuss deeper trade partnerships and measures to draw investors into South Sudan’s emerging markets. Courtship of Gulf Investment Juba hopes the talks unlock capital for oil, infrastructure and agriculture, sectors officials say can anchor long-term growth once the 2018 peace…