JUBA – Life-saving services for nearly 187,000 displaced people in South Sudan could collapse within weeks due to a $6 million funding shortfall, the International Organization for Migration (IOM) warned on Thursday.

The shortfall threatens the survival of communities in the Bentiu and Malakal displacement camps, which have served as “places of last resort” for families fleeing a decade of conflict, recurring floods, and the spillover effects of the ongoing war in neighboring Sudan.

“Without immediate funding, taps will run dry and latrines will overflow,” said Vijaya Souri, IOM Chief of Mission in South Sudan.

“We are facing a public health crisis that will trigger rapid disease outbreaks and renewed displacement just as the rainy season begins.”

The warning comes as South Sudan grapples with a “deteriorating human rights crisis” and a political transition that international observers describe as “falling apart.”

A recent report by the Commission on Human Rights in South Sudan noted a “renewed slide into full-scale conflict,” with ceasefire violations and aerial bombardments reported in civilian areas.

The humanitarian situation is further strained by the arrival of over 800,000 returnees and refugees fleeing the war in Sudan. In the Unity and Upper Nile states, population movements have pushed local infrastructure to a breaking point.

The IOM has appealed to international donors to bridge the $6 million gap through the end of 2026, warning that the “downstream impacts” of a service cessation would be felt by over half a million residents in surrounding towns.

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JUBA – The United Nations has warned of a “perfect storm” of escalating conflict and climate-driven disasters in South Sudan, as renewed fighting in Jonglei State has forced nearly 280,000 people to flee their homes.

UN Humanitarian Chief Tom Fletcher, concluding a five-day mission to the country, said the crisis is being dangerously overlooked by the international community.

Clashes between the national army (SSPDF) and the rival SPLA-iO have intensified since late December, compounded by the destruction of water sources and the spread of cholera.

“People here feel that no one is listening,” Fletcher said. “You have this intersection of climate change, conflict, and extreme poverty creating a cycle of deprivation that is becoming impossible to break without massive intervention.”

The UN Human Rights office also reported gruesome violations, including the killing of over 160 civilians in the north of the country since March 1.

As the African Union sends a technical team to Juba this week to help strengthen education data systems, the immediate priority for aid agencies remains the delivery of food and medicine to families currently sheltering in the open across the Sudd wetlands.

JUBA — South Sudanese authorities have detained several current and former top-tier officials in a sweeping investigation into “financial malpractices” within the nation’s oil and finance sectors, a move that has sent shockwaves through the transitional government.

Those held at the National Security Services headquarters in Juba include former Finance Ministers Dr. Bak Barnaba Chol and Dr. Marial Dongrin Ater, along with the former Governor of the Bank of South Sudan, Moses Makur Deng Manguak.

The arrests, carried out by a joint committee of the Ministry of Justice and the Presidential Guard’s “Tiger Division,” are ostensibly focused on the disappearance of millions in oil revenues.

Minister for Information Ateny Wek Ateny characterized the arrests as non-political, describing them as a necessary step to restore fiscal discipline. However, the timing has raised eyebrows among international observers.

South Sudan is currently grappling with a collapsing economy and a peace deal that UN experts warn is “unraveling toward full-scale war.”

“Corruption in South Sudan is systemic, and while accountability is welcomed, these arrests appear selective,” said a regional analyst at Human Rights Watch.

“There is a risk that anti-corruption rhetoric is being used as a tool to sideline political rivals ahead of the proposed 2026 elections.”

The detentions come as the country faces a humanitarian catastrophe, with civil servant salaries remaining unpaid for months despite the country’s significant oil wealth.