Ambush in South Sudan kills peacekeeping troops

SaveSharefacebookxwhatsapp-strokecopylinkPeacekeepers from the United Nations Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS) provide security during a visit by UN High Commissioner for Refugees Filippo Grandi to a camp in Bentiu, South Sudan [File: Sam Mednick/AP]By APPublished On 24 Aug 202624 Aug 2026An ambush has killed two United Nations peacekeepers in South Sudan.The UN Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS) said in a statement issued on Monday that armed men had ambushed a patrol as it travelled toward Pajut in Jonglei state. The attack comes as fears persist that the country risks sliding into a full-scale civil war.Recommended Stories list of 3 itemslist 1 of 3Red Cross urges international aid as Sudan crisis deepenslist 2 of 3South Sudan, 15 years on: Still fighting for peacelist 3 of 3US courts clear way for deportations of South Sudan, Myanmar nationalsend of listThe identities and nationalities of those killed have not yet been disclosed. Three other peacekeepers were wounded, along with two South Sudanese police officers and two civilian staff attached to the mission.The UN peacekeeping mission said it deployed a “Quick Reaction Force” to secure the area and support the emergency response.“Such deadly violence targeting UNMISS personnel, who are serving to support peace in South Sudan, is unacceptable,” Anita Kiki Gbeho, the head of the mission, said.Escalating conflictNumerous attacks on humanitarian workers have been recorded this year as the prospect of full-blown civil war rises, but violence against peacekeepers is rare.UN figures show more than 450 attacks on humanitarian workers and assets between January and July, more than double last year’s total for the same period. At least 36 humanitarian workers and contractors were killed, surpassing the 31 killed across 2025.The violence is playing out against months of grinding conflict between government troops and forces loyal to opposition leader Riek Machar.Once vice president, Machar was suspended from the post last year and now sits under house arrest, facing treason charges he says are politically motivated.His 2018 power-sharing agreement with President Salva Kiir has fallen apart, and South Sudan now finds itself edging toward a full civil war – a situation the deal was struck eight years ago to avoid.Fighting escalated in December, when opposition forces seized government outposts in Jonglei. The government has hit back with air strikes and ground assaults, even as it insists it remains committed to the 2018 accord.The United States, for its part, has kept pushing Kiir and Machar toward talks, calling earlier this year for “urgent action to uphold peace and mitigate the risk of civil war through an immediate return to dialogue among the parties to the 2018 peace agreement.”