On Monday March 17, the Government of South Sudan issued a directive for civilians to vacate a northern region, just a day after the military launched an airstrike against an armed group accused of seizing a military base and attacking a United Nations helicopter.
The group’s actions in Nasir County have undermined the peace agreement signed in 2018 by President Salva Kiir and Vice President Riek Machar, which brought an end to a devastating five-year civil war that claimed the lives of over 400,000 people.
Information Minister Michael Makuei Lueth warned that any civilian remaining in a military zone would face consequences. He confirmed that the airstrike in Nasir County occurred on Sunday night, with the government forces pledging to continue their operations. Local reports from Nasir County Commissioner, Gatluak Lew Thiep, indicated that more than a dozen civilians had been killed in the bombing, though the army has not confirmed these deaths.
Tensions have escalated between the government and the White Army, a militia believed to have ties to Machar’s faction. This comes after President Kiir’s recent dismissal of officials loyal to Machar, further straining the fragile peace agreement. Earlier in the month, government forces surrounded Machar’s residence in Juba, and several of his associates were arrested following the White Army’s attack on the military base in Nasir County.