The massacre in South Sudan’s Abiemnom county and the air campaign against Iran both happened on Sunday. The calendar overlap offers a tactical veil for armed groups seeking unobserved control.
Stafano Wieu, the leader in the Ruweng area, received reports before the sun broke. Armed men with heavy weapons struck Abiemnom from four directions in a four-hour attack.
The gunmen burned markets and killed at least 169 people, and another 68 were left wounded. Civilians and officers were among the dead, as Information Minister Ateny Wek Ateny confirmed that the violence hit officials and residents alike.
County Commissioner Paulino Wal and the local Executive Director were targeted for elimination, and Wieu mentioned the killers took lives without mercy. More than 1,000 survivors sought safety at the UN compound where peacekeepers gave medical care.
UN official Anita Kiki Gbeho stated that the violence puts people at risk and must end at once. The killers operated in silence. A diplomatic source told a news agency that early evidence points toward a Nuer group, and the SPLM/A-IO denied any part in the violence.
Two Armies and a Broken Peace
The South Sudan People’s Defence Forces serve as the government army for President Salva Kiir and find a base mainly in the Dinka community. The Sudan People’s Liberation Movement-in-Opposition (SPLA-IO) is the army of Riek Machar and pulls from the Nuer community and their White Army militia.
The fighting grew after the 2018 peace deal collapsed because of broken promises. After fighting in Nasir in 2025, Salva Kiir placed Machar under house arrest and accused him of treason. The president removed Machar’s wife and put loyalists in the government.
By early 2026, the SPLA-IO told troops to march on Juba, and the government responded by ordering civilians to leave the counties in Jonglei.
Oil Capital and the Geography of Arms
Underneath the military campaigns lies a total financial crash. The oil pipeline goes through neighbouring Sudan, which is in its own war.
Oil income stopped after the pipeline broke, leaving the government without capital for its soldiers. The International Crisis Group found the government has no presence in Nuer areas as opposition forces move near the city of Bor.
There are fears that groups in Sudan send guns to both sides. Regional leaders and the UN asked for a return to the peace deal, but the parties have done nothing.
Tehran Fills the Screen as Juba Fades
On February 28, 2026, the United States and Israel hit Iran, killing Ali Khamenei and starting a regional war. The news of the war has consumed the global diplomatic focus for days.
The fighting hurt the markets and closed shipping lanes, and the powers that could help in South Sudan are busy in Iran. Observers noted the Middle East war will hide other fights.
The Abiemnom massacre confirmed the point almost immediately. Earlier in the year, General Johnson Olony told his troops to kill everyone, not even sparing a chicken. Human Rights Watch said the language was a call for mass murder. A world looking at Tehran cannot help.
A Forgotten Conflict
South Sudan gets the lowest amount of humanitarian aid since the day the country was born. Shabnam Baloch warned that aid groups have no resources as starvation begins to set in.
Nearly two million people who lost their homes are in danger because of funding cuts. The lack of resources and the absence of eyes on the war let armies kill their rivals with impunity.
Europe has a stake in the region because of trade and migration. The survival of the residents rests on active partnerships with African leaders that overcome a news cycle saturated by the war in Iran.
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Read also:
South Sudan: Justice Delayed, Hunger Not
Nile Tensions: South Sudan at Risk of Renewed Conflict
The European Weapons Fuelling Sudan’s RSF
