Humanitarian catastrophe looms in South Sudan; Cardinal Mulla, UN plead for reconciliation

February 16, 2026

The Vatican newspaper warned that over 825,000 children are at risk of malnutrition in South Sudan amid escalating violence, as a peace agreement that ended the South Sudanese Civil War unravels.

“In Jonglei State alone, nearly 300,000 people are displaced,” L’Osservatore Romano reported on February 14.

In discussing the escalating violence, staff journalist Valerio Palombaro cited statements from the UN Security Council and from UNICEF, the United Nations Children’s Fund.

The 15 members of the Security Council, including the United States, China, and Russia, “recalled that under international law, individuals who order the commission of war crimes may be held accountable,” Council President James Kariuki said on February 13. “They strongly called on all parties to de-escalate and immediately cease renewed hostilities and to resolve issues through peaceful dialogue.”

The Security Council’s statement echoed a recent statement from Cardinal Stephen Ameyu Martin Mulla of Juba, who called for reconciliation and urged troops to disobey orders to kill civilians.

South Sudan, an East African nation of 13.3 million (map), is 61% Christian (41% Catholic), 32% ethnic religionist, and 6% Muslim; it gained independence from largely Muslim Sudan in 2011.

Two years later, the civil war there began. In 2019, Pope Francis kissed the feet of the nation’s leaders as he appealed for peace; in 2023, he made an apostolic journey there.

 

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Further information:

• Sud Sudan: Una pace fragile (L'Osservatore Romano, 2/14/26)
• South Sudan bishops warn of genocide, plead for peace as fears of a full-scale war grow (OSV News, 1/29/26)
• South Sudan cardinal calls on troops to disobey orders to kill civilians (CWN, 1/28/26)