US official urges South Sudan authorities to uphold 2018 peace agreement

Tensions are flaring between the United States and South Sudan. On a visit to Juba last week, the head of the US State Department Bureau of African Affairs Nick Checker urged South Sudanese authorities to "take urgent action to restore peace."

In a statement from the US embassy on Monday, Washington called on Juba to take further action to implement the 2018 peace agreement that put an end to South Sudan's civil war.

While "flawed," Checker said, the agreement "provides the basis of legitimacy for the transitional government."

The US also denounced the detention of South Sudanese Vice President Riek Machar, a rival of President Salva Kiir and head of the Sudan People's Liberation Movement-in-Opposition, the main opposition party in the country.

Machar was arrested in March 2025, suspended from his duties and charged with treason, murder and crimes against humanity.

"It is farcical to claim that inter-party dialogue is taking place" while Machar is currently on trial, Checker said.

The US official also accused South Sudan's leadership of exploiting the country's crises to elicit international donor support while failing to use public revenue for the Sudanese people and "obstructing the delivery of lifesaving assistance."

Tensions remain high in South Sudan as fighting rages on between government and opposition forces, and experts are warning of a return to full blown war.

The violence has forced tens of thousands to flee their homes, with aid agencies regularly attacked and struggling to function.

Despite billions of dollars in oil revenue and years of international assistance, the country's humanitarian situation also continues to deteriorate.

Almost two‑thirds of South Sudan’s population — around 7.9 million people — are now facing severe hunger, according to an April joint food security report compiled by the government, the United Nations and humanitarian organisations.

South Sudan is expected to hold elections in December after years of delay, the first national polls since its independence in 2011.