GENEVA: The lives of more than 1.9 million displaced people in South Sudan are being put at risk due to aid funding shortages, the UN’s migration agency said Wednesday.
The International Organization for Migration (IOM) said humanitarian needs were dramatically outstripping resources in one of the world’s most displacement-affected countries.
“Critical funding shortfalls are putting the lives of over 1.9 million displaced people in South Sudan at risk,” the agency said in a statement.
South Sudan, the world’s newest sovereign country, has been beset by civil war, poverty and massive corruption since it was formed in 2011.
South Sudan is grappling with new arrivals fleeing the conflict in neighboring Sudan, while dealing with its own displacement caused by years of conflict, flooding and instability, the IOM said.
The agency said that since the war in Sudan erupted in April 2023, more than 1.3 million people had crossed into South Sudan — two-thirds of them being South Sudanese returnees.
The IOM said this had put “immense pressure” on border communities, and the country’s overstretched services and fragile infrastructure.
“South Sudan is carrying an extraordinary burden, and funding shortfalls risk undermining progress toward durable solutions for millions,” said Ugochi Daniels, the IOM’s deputy director general for operations.
“Displaced families and host communities are trying to rebuild their lives, but the strain is real. Without sustained support and progress toward peace, these communities could face renewed instability and displacement.”
The IOM said its 2026 response plan was $29 million short.
The United States was the biggest contributor to the UN but has slashed its foreign aid funding since President Donald Trump returned to power in January 2025 — while other countries have also tightened their belts.
There has been rising violence in recent weeks between supporters of South Sudan’s President Salva Kiir and his long-time rival Riek Machar — much of it centered on Jonglei state where at least 280,000 people have been displaced, according to the UN.
The conflict in has largely pitted the two largest ethnic groups against each other — the Dinka aligned mostly with Kiir, and the Nuer mostly with Machar.
UN: Funding gaps threaten lives of 1.9 million displaced in South Sudan
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UN: Funding gaps threaten lives of 1.9 million displaced in South Sudan
- IOM said humanitarian needs were dramatically outstripping resources in one of the world’s most displacement-affected countries
- “Critical funding shortfalls are putting the lives of over 1.9 million displaced people in South Sudan at risk“
Ukraine says Russia launched a major aerial attack before Kyiv’s talks with US
- The bombardment targeted critical infrastructure and residential areas across eight regions of Ukraine, Zelensky said
- Dozens of people, including children, were injured, officials said
KYIV: Russia launched a barrage of 420 drones and 39 missiles at Ukraine overnight, President Volodymyr Zelensky said Thursday, as US and Ukrainian envoys held more talks in Geneva on ending the war that is now in its fifth year.
The bombardment, which included 11 ballistic missiles, targeted critical infrastructure and residential areas across eight regions of Ukraine, Zelensky said. Dozens of people, including children, were injured, officials said, though authorities did not immediately publish a confirmed total.
Zelensky said late Wednesday he had spoken by phone with US President Donald Trump and thanked him for his “efforts and engagement” in pursuing peace negotiations.
The US-brokered talks between Moscow and Kyiv are continuing but are deadlocked on the issue of the future of Ukrainian territory that Russia claims as its own.
Zelensky has pushed for a summit with Russia’s President Vladimir Putin, saying a face-to-face meeting could be decisive in unlocking an agreement, but the Kremlin has rebuffed that proposal beyond inviting the Ukrainian president to Moscow, which Zelensky refused.
Trump representatives Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, who were also discussing nuclear negotiations with Iran in Geneva before turning to the war in Europe, met with Rustem Umerov, the head of Ukraine’s National Security and Defense Council. They also joined Trump’s call with Zelensky.
The envoys were to discuss economic support and the recovery of Ukraine, ways of attracting investment to the country, and frameworks for long-term cooperation, Umerov said on X.
Also, the meeting would look at preparations for the next round of trilateral negotiations involving Russia and consider possible further exchanges of prisoner, according to Umerov.
Washington is looking to keep momentum in its yearlong push to stop the fighting and overcome deep enmity between the warring countries.
Ukrainian and European officials have accused Putin of feigning interest in peace negotiations, hoping to avoid punitive US measures such as additional sanctions while pressing forward with the invasion.
Thursday’s talks between the American and Ukrainian envoys were to address details of a possible postwar recovery plan for Ukraine and discuss preparations for an upcoming trilateral meeting with Moscow officials, perhaps next week, according to Zelensky.
He said he has also tasked Umerov with discussing a possible prisoner exchange.
Russia returned 1,000 bodies of fallen soldiers to Ukraine, and got back 35 bodies of its fallen troops, Vladimir Medinsky, the head of the Russian delegation at previous talks with Ukraine, said Thursday. He did not say when the exchange happened.
Ukraine’s Coordination Headquarters for the Treatment of Prisoners of War later confirmed the return, though it referred to “bodies which, according to preliminary information provided by the Russian side, may belong to Ukrainian defenders.”
Russia struck gas infrastructure in the Poltava region and electrical substations in the Kyiv and Dnipropetrovsk regions, Zelensky said. Emergency crews responded in five other regions, as well as in the capital.
Ukraine’s air defenses shot down most of the Russian missiles, Zelensky said, crediting Western partners for timely delivery of additional air defense interceptors. Ukraine needs foreign help to sustain its fight against Russia’s bigger forces.
Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha urged allied countries to provide more military aid.
“When the whole world demands Moscow to finally stop this senseless war, Putin bets on more terror, attacks and aggression,” Sybiha said in a post on the Ministry of Foreign Affairs website.
The Russian Defense Ministry said its air defenses shot down 17 Ukrainian drones overnight over a number of Russian regions, as well as the Black and Azov Seas.
Ukraine’s domestically developed long-range drones have struck oil refineries, fuel depots and military logistics hubs deep inside Russia.
Meanwhile, Russia continued to push allegations of a purported plot by European nations to provide Kyiv with a nuclear bomb, without providing any evidence.
The Kremlin-controlled lower house of the Russian parliament on Thursday unanimously approved an address urging the United Nations and European lawmakers to prevent the alleged plan.
It followed a statement on Tuesday by the Russian foreign intelligence service alleging that France and the UK were planning to covertly transfer nuclear weapons or components of a “dirty bomb” device.
British and French officials said the claim was a lie.
