A group of individuals suspected of criminal activity are pictured at a Juba police station after their arrest -Courtesy

Human Rights Watch reports that since late June 2025, South Sudan’s security forces have carried out a sweeping and abusive crackdown in the capital, Juba, ostensibly targeting criminal gangs.

Under this campaign, security forces arbitrarily arrested hundreds of boys, young men, and women, detaining many without charge for days and releasing some only after families paid bribes.

The rights body alleges that others were subjected to torture, sexual violence, or forcibly conscripted into the military, while several detainees remain missing.

Security forces, including the National Police Service, the South Sudan People’s Defence Forces (SSPDF), and the National Security Service, conducted joint operations across residential neighborhoods of Juba.

Witnesses and victims told Human Rights Watch that officers, some in uniform and others in civilian clothes, targeted boys and young men gathered in public or private spaces, regardless of evidence of criminal activity.

Arrests often occurred in the evening, with detainees taken to police stations or military facilities including Buluk, Gumbo, Mapao, Lologo, Gudele, and the Giyada military barracks.

Between August 7 and November 23, Human Rights Watch interviewed 37 people remotely, including victims, family members, civil society activists, and United Nations child protection experts. Three of those interviewed were children.

On December 10, Human Rights Watch wrote to police and military spokespersons seeking responses to its findings, but received no reply.

Detainees consistently described being beaten during arrest and in custody. Some were whipped, kicked, tied with ropes, or lashed, resulting in serious injuries.

Conditions in detention were harsh and overcrowded, with little access to food, clean water, sanitation, or medical care. A 17-year-old detainee held at the Giyada military barracks said he saw boys urinating into empty bottles and drinking it due to lack of water.

Women detained during the crackdown reported sexual violence, including rape by police officers. In late June, security forces raided a large party of young people at a hotel in Juba, arresting hundreds.

Several women detained during the raid told Human Rights Watch that multiple police officers raped them at Buluk police station. Survivors described threats and intimidation afterward, discouraging them from reporting the crimes or seeking medical and psychosocial support.

Many detainees were held for hours or up to a week without charge or court appearance. Families often struggled to locate detained relatives, particularly children. In several cases, authorities refused to disclose the whereabouts of detainees.

Parents were sometimes required to present school documents or letters from local officials to prove their children were not criminals.

Release from detention was frequently conditioned on payment of bribes in cash or goods. Families reported paying amounts ranging from about US$10 to more than US$100, as well as providing items such as chairs. Some parents said the payments left them unable to afford school fees.

Human Rights Watch also documented the forced conscription of boys and men, including children.

Detainees were transferred from police or military facilities in Juba to conflict areas in Upper Nile state, often via flights to Malakal and onward to Nasir and other locations.

Several former detainees said they received minimal training before being sent to front-line combat or forced to perform labor for soldiers. Some escaped under dangerous conditions, while others remain missing.

At least four families told Human Rights Watch that relatives have not been seen since their arrest and that authorities have refused to provide information about their fate or whereabouts. Such failures may amount to enforced disappearance, which is strictly prohibited under international law.

South Sudanese domestic law and international human rights treaties ratified by South Sudan prohibit arbitrary arrest and detention, torture, sexual violence, and the recruitment or use of children by armed forces.

International law also requires that detention of children be used only as a measure of last resort.

Human Rights Watch said South Sudanese authorities should immediately end arbitrary arrests and forced recruitment, investigate and prosecute abuses including rape and torture, release all unlawfully detained and forcibly conscripted individuals, and disclose the whereabouts of those missing.

The government should also ensure access to trauma-informed, gender-sensitive medical and psychosocial care for victims and grant independent monitors access to military facilities, including in Upper Nile state.

Human Rights Watch further called on South Sudan’s international partners to ensure that any support to police or security forces is conditioned on respect for human rights, accountability for abuses, and concrete measures to prevent child recruitment.

“Instead of responding to real concerns around criminality, the security forces have used this law enforcement campaign to commit serious abuses against marginalized children and young people,” said Nyagoah Tut Pur, South Sudan researcher at Human Rights Watch.

“The authorities should ensure credible, rights-respecting responses to address crime and stop further marginalizing South Sudan’s youth.”

The South Sudanese authorities have yet to comment on the report.

However in June, 2025, security organs in Central Equatoria State confirmed the arrestof 623 suspected gang members in a major security crackdown across the capital.

The arrests follow a disturbing incident last week, where members of the gang—locally known as “niggas”—allegedly gang-raped a 16-year-old girl in the Shirikat residential area.

Later in the year, the police said majority of the arrested gangs were released with a few detained at the Rajaf police center for reformatory.