Thousands flee Akobo after South Sudan army issues forced evacuation order

"The town of Akobo, near the Ethiopian border, was almost completely emptied by Sunday after the South Sudan People's Defense Forces issued an ultimatum on Friday demanding that civilians, aid workers and United Nations peacekeepers leave ahead of a planned assault. The town is now almost empty, said Nhial Lew, a local humanitarian official. Women, children and the elderly have left and crossed into Ethiopia."

"The order extends a government counteroffensive, launched in January and dubbed Operation Enduring Peace, that has already displaced more than 280,000 people across Jonglei state since December, when opposition forces began seizing government positions. The UN's Commission on Human Rights in South Sudan warned of a possible return to full-scale war if the country's leadership didn't take the challenges it faces more seriously."

"Preventing further mass atrocity crimes, institutional collapse, and the destruction of South Sudan's fragile transition requires urgent coordinated national, regional and international re-engagement, the report said. Akobo, which had been considered a relatively safe haven and sheltered more than 82,000 displaced people, is one of the last remaining strongholds of the Sudan People's Liberation Movement-in-Opposition."

South Sudan's military has ordered civilians, aid workers, and UN peacekeepers to evacuate from Akobo, an opposition stronghold near the Ethiopian border, ahead of a planned military assault. The town, which sheltered over 82,000 displaced people, was nearly emptied by Sunday as women, children, and elderly residents fled across the border into Ethiopia. This offensive, part of Operation Enduring Peace launched in January, has already displaced more than 280,000 people across Jonglei state since December. The UN Commission on Human Rights warned of potential full-scale civil war if leadership fails to address mounting challenges, emphasizing the need for urgent national, regional, and international intervention to prevent mass atrocities and institutional collapse.

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