The Deputy Special Representative of the United Nations Secretary-General for South Sudan, Anita Kiki Gbeho. (AMISOM Photo / Mukhtar Nuur)

MALAKAL, (Eye Radio) – The United Nations has expressed deep concern over escalating violence in South Sudan’s Upper Nile State which it reports to have killed at least 180 people and displaced 125,000 others since the beginning of March 2025.

During a visit to Malakal on Tuesday, UN Humanitarian Coordinator Anita Kiki Gbeho reiterated the need for the protection of the population and immediate, unimpeded access to lifesaving humanitarian aid.

“I heard first-hand accounts of the impact of the violence is having on people. All actors involved in the violence must refrain from harming the population— including humanitarian personnel who risk their lives every day to deliver aid,” said Ms. Gbeho, in the UN statement.

Since March 2025, the peacekeeping body said armed clashes and aerial bombardments have killed more than 180 people, injured over 250 others, and displaced an estimated 125,000 people in Upper Nile.

The violence has also claimed the lives of four humanitarian workers, and six health facilities have been forced to shut down due to looting and destruction, it said.

The UN statement also cited Tuesday’s medical aid MSF’s suspension of vital health services at Ulang Hospital which serves 174,000 people — following extensive looting of several facilities in the area.

The UN said humanitarian access remains restricted in South Sudan, and critical medical supplies are rapidly running out amid an ongoing cholera outbreak that has already claimed 919 lives and infected nearly 49,000 people.

While in Malakal, Ms. Gbeho met with conflict-affected communities, the Governor of Upper Nile State, UN agencies, non-governmental organizations, and civil society representatives to assess the humanitarian situation and coordinate the response on the ground.

She also visited a cholera treatment centre. “This latest surge in violence must stop. This violence comes at a time when humanitarian funding is dwindling and urgent needs are rising — not only in Upper Nile but across South Sudan.

“Today, 9.3 million people across the country require assistance,” she said.

The 2025 Humanitarian Response Plan for South Sudan is currently only 12.6 percent funded. The compounding impacts of conflict, food insecurity, disease outbreaks, economic crisis, climate shocks, and instability in neighbouring Sudan are fuelling a severe humanitarian emergency.

With the rainy season fast approaching and the cholera outbreak accelerating, rapid and unhindered access to vulnerable communities — along with the delivery of critical supplies — is urgently needed to save lives.