President Salva Kiir of South Sudan has announced a six-month state of emergency in Warrap State and Mayom County in Unity State due to rising insecurity and communal violence, according to Sudan Post.
The declaration, made via the state-run South Sudan Broadcasting Corporation (SSBC), allows the government to deploy more security forces and take "all necessary measures" to restore order in the affected regions.
The declaration comes after several weeks of violent intercommunal conflicts, especially in Tonj East County of Warrap, resulting in an unknown number of civilian fatalities.
In Mayom County, officials reported that armed youth from the neighboring Warrap State conducted cross-border cattle raids.
According to South Sudan's Transitional Constitution, any presidential emergency declaration must be presented to the National Legislative Assembly for approval within 15 days.
With parliament currently in recess, it is uncertain if lawmakers will gather to approve the measure, which is already in effect.
This action effectively places Warrap and Mayom under lockdown, likely leading to restrictions on civilian movement.
It also highlights increasing worries about the resurgence of localized armed violence, which analysts caution could develop into a wider national crisis.
On Thursday morning, military aircraft were seen carrying out airstrikes in an apparent effort to prevent clashes between rival communities along the Warrap–Unity border.
This is not the first instance of Kiir implementing such a measure in Warrap. A comparable state of emergency was declared in 2017 after violence erupted in Gogrial and parts of Tonj.
The recent emergency order is issued against a backdrop of escalating tensions nationwide. Opposition leader Riek Machar remains under house arrest in Juba, and recent confrontations between SPLA-IO forces and government troops in Upper Nile have heightened concerns about a potential return to full-scale civil war.
Analysts warn that the fragile peace agreement from 2018 is deteriorating, with deepening ethnic divisions and a rapid decline in trust among key political figures.
