UN peacekeepers defy South Sudan military's order to leave opposition-held town

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JUBA, South Sudan (AP) — The United Nations Mission in South Sudan said Monday that it would not comply with a government order to shut down its base in Akobo, an opposition stronghold near the Ethiopian border where tens of thousands of refugees have fled.

On Friday, the South Sudanese army ordered U.N. peacekeepers as well as humanitarian organizations and civilians to vacate the town ahead of a planned assault.

But the mission refused to leave and said it would provide “a protective presence for civilians” in the town, adding that the safety and security of its personnel “must be fully respected at all times.”

The U.N. Mission said it was engaging “intensively with national, state and local stakeholders” regarding this order. “Any military operations in and around Akobo gravely endanger the safety and security of civilians,” said mission chief Anita Kiki Gbeho.

The South Sudanese government has been fighting opposition forces since a 2018 peace deal broke down about a year ago.

A dramatic escalation took place in December 2025, when opposition forces seized several government outposts in northern Jonglei. A government counter-offensive repelled their forces a month later and displaced over 280,000 people. Tens of thousands have sought refuge in Akobo, where a small contingent of U.N. peacekeepers is stationed.

Fearing the looming government assault, humanitarian workers were evacuated from Akobo over the weekend, and a mass exodus of the population has also begun.

The army announced Tuesday that Akobo was now under its control and it has escorted the government commissioner James Kueth Makuach back to his office and official residence. Makuach had left the town after he was dismissed by the opposition, which appointed another commissioner in his place.

Local officials contacted by the The Associated Press said fleeing civilians faced danger and widespread shortages of essential supplies. Dual Diew, the Akobo County health director, who has fled to Ethiopia, said there were 84 wounded patients at the hospital. “We have most of them with us here now,” he said, adding that they lack medicine and basic nursing equipment.

Christophe Garnier, the leader of Doctors Without Borders in South Sudan said the organization had to evacuate its staff from Akobo on Saturday and learned of the subsequent looting of its hospital and the ransacking of its office.

“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,” he said.

The three Western governments that have played a major role in the peace process — the U.S, U.K., and Norway — sent a letter to President Salva Kiir on Monday urging that the army's evacuation order be revoked and warning of “further deaths, displacement and suffering for the South Sudanese people” if the offensive on Akobo is implemented.