The United Nations Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS) said that discussions are ongoing with the South Sudanese Government to transfer responsibility for the remaining Malakal Protection of Civilians (POC) site in Upper Nile State.
UNMISS spokesperson Priyanka Chowdhury noted that the transition process is being managed in a coordinated and orderly manner, with the safety and protection of residents at its core. She explained that UNMISS is working alongside national and Upper Nile State authorities, as well as humanitarian partners, to facilitate the conversion of the Malakal POC into a settlement area under full government responsibility.
Previously, in 2020, POC sites in Bor, Bentiu, Wau and Juba were redesignated as internally displaced persons camps and placed under government control. The Malakal site, home to about 40,000 people, remains the last UN-run POC and continues to provide refuge for civilians fleeing violence.
The site’s continued significance is underscored by persistent insecurity in Upper Nile State, where tensions intensified following an attack on a South Sudan People’s Defence Forces base in Nasir in March 2025, allegedly carried out by the White Army militia, which the government links to the SPLA-IO.