Thousands displaced by clashes in South Sudan town

Rival armies are clashing in the opposition-held town of Akobo in South Sudan, sources said on Wednesday, displacing hundreds of thousands of people.

Akobo in the eastern state of Jonglei is the latest flashpoint amid fighting between the government and opposition forces.

On Friday, the army ordered foreign aid agencies to evacuate the town ahead of an offensive to restore government control.

Amid the clashes, the opposition said it still had control of the county headquarters, rejecting an earlier statement from the army that it had reinstalled the "legitimate" commissioner for the area.

Mass displacement

A source with a security agency in South Sudan told AFP that the army had entered Akobo on Tuesday, and there have been pockets of fighting across the town.

Some 200,000 people have been displaced to nearby Tiergol on the Ethiopian border, the source said.

With limited communications, it has been difficult to confirm events on the ground.

The United Nations refused to evacuate from Akobo, but NGOs like Doctors Without Borders (MSF) were forced to leave on Saturday.

Kiir, Machar fallout

South Sudan gained independence in 2011 but soon descended into civil war after President Salva Kiir fell out with his vice, Riek Machar.

A 2018 power-sharing deal between President Kiir and Machar has been unravelling since early 2025, with clashes in multiple areas.