Renewed Insecurity and Rising Displacementin Jonglei Put Thousands At Grave Risk,UNHCR Warns
By Sasuk Taban
The UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) is warning that a grave protectioncrisis is unfolding in South Sudan’s northern Jonglei State, where months of fighting and insecurity have forced hundreds of thousands of people to flee their homes, triggering one of the most severe conflict related displacement emergencies in recent years.
In a press briefing at the Palais des Nations in Geneva on 5th June 2026, Matthew Brook, UNHCR Representative in South Sudan said the lack of safe shelter and basic services is sharply increasing protection risks.
“Women and children remain particularly exposed to exploitation, abuse and violence, while older people, those with disabilities and other vulnerable groups face serious challenges accessing food, health care,protection and other essential support. Constrained humanitarian access across several locations has cut off the most vulnerable from critical aid,further deepening the crisis,” he emphasized.
Jonglei’s Akobo County, the epicenter of the violence, is bearing the heaviest impact. Around 140,000 people have been displaced there alone, while more than 300,000 have been uprooted across Jonglei and neighboring states since December last year. Around 100,000 people fled into neighboring Ethiopia in search of safety, with population movements remaining fluid and pendular. Meanwhile, thousands have also returned home in recent weeks despite ongoing insecurity, limited services and severe humanitarian needs.
Brooks added that UNHCR teams on the ground have witnessed the emergency unfold, whereby many families are returning to find their homes destroyed, or looted, forcing them to cram into unfinished buildings and makeshift shelters made from sticks and plastic sheeting.
“Children have been traumatized having been witness to the conflict,while others have been separated from their families. At the same time,there are multiple reports of women having experienced severe conflict related sexual violence”.
“Many have exhausted their resources after moving repeatedly between South Sudan and Ethiopia in search of safety. For some, returning to Akobo is not a sign that conditions for return are ideal, but instead a reflection of how few options remain,” he said.
With South Sudan’s rainy season now underway, likely flooding is adding another layer of hardship to an already dire crisis. In 2025,unprecedented floods affected more than 1 million people across the country, damaging homes, roads and basic infrastructure, cutting off communities and restricting humanitarian access. Similar impacts are expected this year, raising the risk that displaced families in Akobo and surrounding areas will become even more isolated as heavy rains intensify, disease risks grow and relief operations become increasingly difficult.
The humanitarian situation in Jonglei comes against the backdrop of a wider displacement crisis in South Sudan, the world’s youngest nation,which has faced repeated waves of conflict, displacement and climate shocks since independence in 2011.
Around 2.4 million South Sudanese refugees remain hosted across the region, while nearly 2 million people are internally displaced within the country. South Sudan is also absorbing the impact of the war in neighboring Sudan, with more than 1.3 million people crossing into the country since April 2023, including returnees, refugees and asylum seekers.
UNHCR and partners remain on the ground monitoring borders and carrying out targeted community-based protection services to identify those most in need and referring them to available services. However, humanitarian needs are growing fast, and the response cannot keep pace.
As of May 2026, UNHCR had only 25 per cent of the $286 million required to support people forced to flee and local host communities in South Sudan.
The Refugee Agency is calling for urgent, flexible funding to scale up protection and life-saving assistance in Akobo and across South Sudan.Without immediate support, thousands of families who fled violence risk facing the rainy season without safe shelter, basic services or the protection they need to survive.
