JUBA – Three South Sudanese civil society organizations have called for an immediate cessation of hostilities following the killing of Akobo County Commissioner James Kueth Makuach in renewed fighting between government forces and the Sudan People’s Liberation Army in Opposition (SPLA-IO) in Akobo County of South Sudan’s Jonglei State.
The groups warned that the violence, which led to the killing of the County Commissioner on Sunday, threatens thousands of displaced civilians and could further disrupt humanitarian operations.
The appeal, issued jointly by the Community Empowerment for Progress Organization (CEPO), the Greater Akobo Civil Society Network (GACSN), and the National Civil Society Coalition (NCSC), comes as fighting continues in and around Walgak, where the SPLA-IO says it has seized control after launching an offensive against government-aligned forces.
“We express our deep concern and utter disappointment over the resumption of military hostilities between the South Sudan People’s Defence Forces (SSPDF) and the Sudan People’s Liberation Army in Opposition (SPLA-IO) in Walgak, Akobo County of Jonglei State,” the organizations said in a statement signed by CEPO Executive Director Edmund Yakani, GACSN representative Sam Koang Malual, and NCSC Chairperson Bol Deng Bol.
The renewed clashes have raised fears of another humanitarian crisis in an area already hosting thousands of people displaced by earlier violence in northern Jonglei.
“Akobo and Walgak in particular, hosts thousands of displaced persons as the result of the similar conflict in Northern Jonglei in the recent months,” the statement said. “This civilian population is being attended to by the humanitarian agencies who are providing life-saving assistance, including medicine, food and shelter in response to Government’s security assurance.”
According to geolocation analysis conducted by Sudans Post, SPLA-IO forces advanced from the direction of Akobo and captured Walgak after government-aligned troops withdrew from the area.
Multiple local sources also reported that Akobo County Commissioner James Kueth Makuach was killed during the fighting, although the government has not confirmed the report.
The civil society organizations said the full human cost of the latest fighting remains unclear but warned that continued hostilities pose an immediate danger to civilians and aid operations across northern and central Jonglei.
“This unfortunate relapse to violence is a threat to civilian lives and their properties as well as to humanitarian operations in the entire northern and central Jonglei. We are therefore alarmed by this incident,” the statement said.
The groups urged all parties to immediately and unconditionally cease hostilities and called on the Ceasefire and Transitional Security Arrangements Monitoring and Verification Mechanism (CTSAMVM) to conduct an independent investigation into the fighting.
They also appealed to the Presidency to urgently convene an inclusive political dialogue involving all parties to the 2018 Revitalized Agreement on the Resolution of the Conflict in South Sudan, including suspended First Vice President Riek Machar, arguing that renewed political engagement is essential to prevent further escalation.
In addition, the organizations called for full protection of civilians, especially internally displaced people, and demanded unhindered humanitarian access to affected communities.
“We urge all parties to embrace dialogue over violence and place the interests of the South Sudanese people above military confrontation,” the statement said. “Peace is possible, but it requires political will, compromise, and putting citizens first.”
“Our people have suffered enough. Peace must prevail,” the organizations added.
