Escalating violence in Jonglai State, South Sudan

CIR has conducted an open-source digital investigation into incidents of violence and human rights violations in Jonglei State, South Sudan, from 23 December 2025 to 30 April 2026. This period saw an escalation in conflict between the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement-Army in Opposition (SPLM/A-IO, or IO) and the South Sudanese military, the South Sudan People’s Defence Forces (SSPDF).

CIR collected 23 events of interest during the investigation period, such as major casualty incidents and the destruction of civilian infrastructure. Based on the availability of open-source evidence and the severity of reported claims, CIR conducted an in-depth investigation into six events, which included:

• Destruction and looting in Pultruk village during SSPDF-IO clashes in late January 2026, including the looting of medical buildings and destruction of warehouses while Pultruk was under IO control.
• Three incidents which showed the burning and looting of villages during an SSPDF offensive in late January and early February 2026. CIR verified the burning of areas in Pathai, Motot, and Walgak villages.
• Aerial bombardments and destruction in Lankien town from late December 2025 to early February 2026, which caused civilian casualties and destroyed medical compounds, the Lankien market, and boreholes.
• The looting and destruction of Akobo town in March and April 2026. In this context, CIR verified the looting of medical and aid compounds and the destruction of boreholes and energy infrastructure.

CIR also observed the following recurring patterns of violence:

• Following incidents of violence, CIR recorded damage to civilian infrastructure, such as homes, medical and aid compounds, boreholes, and generators.
• The burning of civilian structures was observed in nearly every incident CIR investigated, and is likely to have occurred in significantly more incidents than those included in this report.
• Looting frequently followed the capture of settlements by military actors, and debris or removed solar panels were visible on satellite imagery.
• Significant displacement was reported across Jonglei state following military clashes. While CIR was able to verify the expansion of internally displaced persons (IDP) camps on satellite imagery, further research is required to document the full extent of displacement and its repercussions.