UN Security Council renews South Sudan arms embargo

NEW YORK,  United States 

The United Nations Security Council on Friday extended for one year an arms embargo and individual sanctions imposed on South Sudan, where recent violent clashes have raised fears of a new civil war.

The world’s newest nation, which gained independence from Sudan in 2011, was engulfed in a civil war from 2013 to 2018 that killed about 400,000 people and displaced 4 million.

A fragile peace was established through a 2018 power-sharing agreement between rival factions.

However, clashes in recent months have erupted between forces loyal to President Salva Kiir and supporters of his rival, First Vice President Riek Machar, who was placed under house arrest on March 26.

South Sudan’s government opposed the arms embargo, and six Security Council members abstained from the vote. The measure passed with nine votes in favor—the minimum required for adoption—extending the embargo until May 31, 2026.

The African members of the Security Council — Algeria, Sierra Leone, Somalia — abstained, along with China, Pakistan and Russia.

The resolution also extends the mandate of the Panel of Experts, which assists the work of the South Sudan Sanctions Committee, until July 1, 2026.

In its resolution, the Council expressed “concern over the continued intensification of violence” and stressed the need for both sides to “avoid a relapse into widespread conflict.”

Deputy U.S. Ambassador John Kelley said the embargo “remains necessary to stem the unfettered flow of weapons into a region that remains awash with guns.”