JUBA, South Sudan (AP) — United Nations peacekeepers in South Sudan announced Monday they will disregard a military directive demanding they abandon their base in Akobo, a town controlled by opposition forces located near the Ethiopian border that has become a refuge for tens of thousands of displaced people.
The South Sudanese military issued the evacuation order on Friday, instructing UN peacekeepers, non-governmental organizations, and civilians to leave Akobo in advance of a military operation they plan to conduct.
However, the peacekeeping mission rejected the demand and declared it will maintain “a protective presence for civilians” in the area, emphasizing that the safety and security of its staff “must be fully respected at all times.”
According to the UN Mission, officials are conducting “intensive” discussions with various government levels regarding the evacuation directive. Mission leader Anita Kiki Gbeho stated, “Any military operations in and around Akobo gravely endanger the safety and security of civilians.”
South Sudan’s government has been engaged in combat with opposition groups since a 2018 peace agreement collapsed approximately one year ago.
The conflict intensified significantly in December 2025 when opposition fighters captured multiple government positions in northern Jonglei. Government forces launched a counter-attack one month later that pushed back opposition troops but caused more than 280,000 people to flee their homes. Thousands of these displaced individuals have sought safety in Akobo, where a small group of UN peacekeepers maintains a presence.
With concerns mounting about the impending government offensive against Akobo, aid workers were removed over the weekend, and large numbers of residents have started leaving the town.
Local authorities who spoke with The Associated Press described the dangers facing evacuating civilians and critical shortages of necessary supplies. Dual Diew, who serves as Akobo County’s health director and has escaped to Ethiopia, reported that 84 injured patients were at the local hospital. “We have most of them with us here now,” Diew explained, noting they are without adequate medicine and basic medical equipment.
Christophe Garnier, who heads Doctors Without Borders operations in South Sudan, reported his organization had to remove its personnel from Akobo on Saturday and later discovered their hospital had been looted and their office destroyed.
“People in Akobo must now either flee without protection or remain at risk of being killed, while losing access to healthcare and other essential services,” Garnier stated.
Three Western nations that have been central to peace negotiations — the United States, United Kingdom, and Norway — delivered a letter to President Kiir on Monday calling for the military’s evacuation order to be withdrawn and cautioning about “further deaths, displacement and suffering for the South Sudanese people” if the Akobo offensive proceeds.
