NAIROBI, Kenya — South Sudan’s military has initiated a comprehensive combat operation dubbed ‘Operation Enduring Peace’ following significant territorial setbacks to opposition forces in Jonglei state. Army spokesman Lul Ruai Koang confirmed the offensive would target recapturing recently lost towns and reestablishing governmental authority.
The announcement comes amid international alarm after a senior military commander, General Johnson Olony, was filmed instructing troops to ‘spare no lives’ during operations in Duk county. The video, circulated on social media, shows Olony explicitly ordering the destruction of property and killing of civilians, including the elderly. Government spokesman Ateny Wek Ateny subsequently characterized these remarks as ‘uncalled for’ and potentially a morale-boosting tactic rather than official policy.
This military escalation follows months of intensified conflict between government forces and a coalition of opposition groups, including factions loyal to suspended Vice President Riek Machar and the ethnic Nuer militia known as the White Army. The opposition alliance has captured multiple government outposts since December, most notably seizing Pajut on January 16 and threatening advancement toward the capital Juba.
The resurgent violence threatens to unravel the fragile 2018 peace agreement that ended a devastating five-year civil war which claimed approximately 400,000 lives. Machar, currently under house arrest facing treason charges, has seen his political faction declare the peace agreement void while intensifying military pressure through armory seizures and hit-and-run attacks.
International observers have expressed profound concern over the deteriorating situation. Alan Boswell of the International Crisis Group stated unequivocally that ‘South Sudan has returned to war,’ describing the development as ‘incredibly tragic for a country that only grows weaker and poorer.’ The UN Commission on Human Rights in South Sudan warned of ‘grave alarm’ regarding the significantly heightened ‘risk of mass violence against civilians.’
Civil society leader Edmund Yakani characterized Olony’s comments as evidence that government troops were being ’empowered to commit atrocities, to commit crimes against humanity, and, potentially, even to commit a genocide.’ The deployment of Olony—a Shilluk commander with a history of conflict with Nuer communities—to predominantly Nuer areas of Jonglei has been described by analysts as ‘incendiary’ and a ‘propaganda gift to the opposition.’
The army has ordered civilian evacuations from three Jonglei counties and given aid organizations 48 hours to depart, raising concerns about humanitarian access and civilian protection in the conflict zone.