Kenya has been placed on high alert due to escalating violence in South Sudan, where the United Nations reports over 180,000 people displaced. This stems from fresh attacks and ceasefire violations. President William Ruto has engaged South Sudan's leaders to urge dialogue for peace.
Escalating violence in South Sudan has prompted Kenya to go on high alert, with the United Nations Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS) issuing a statement on Sunday, January 25, 2026, reporting over 180,000 people displaced amid conflicts allegedly fueled by senior government officials. Despite South Sudan's assurances of commitment to peace, ceasefire violations persist, and the Sudan People's Liberation Army in Opposition (SPLA-IO) has attacked and seized several areas in Jonglei state, according to BBC reports.
SSPDF spokesperson Lul Ruai Koang instructed Jonglei residents to "immediately evacuate" areas under SPLA-IO control. UNMISS noted that communities are enduring severe harm from the conflict, including direct clashes between forces linked to the main peace agreement parties.
"Inflammatory rhetoric calling for violence against civilians, including the most vulnerable, is utterly abhorrent and must stop now," said Graham Maitland, Officer in Charge of UNMISS.
The conflict erupted in 2013, two years after independence, when President Salva Kiir accused First Vice-President Riek Machar of plotting a coup. A 2018 peace deal followed a civil war that killed nearly 400,000, but tensions between the leaders lingered, and implementation faltered. Kenya has led efforts to enforce the deal as a key guarantor of the Revitalized Agreement on the Resolution of the Conflict in the Republic of South Sudan (R-ARCSS).
Last year, President William Ruto disclosed talks with President Salva Kiir Mayardit and First Vice-President Riek Machar to address the political impasse. "This morning, I spoke with President Salva Kiir Mayardit of South Sudan and First Vice-President Riek Machar about the escalating security situation in the country," Ruto stated, urging dialogue under IGAD's Strategic Framework.