Thousands of people have been fleeing the South Sudanese town of Akobo and surrounding parts of Jonglei state, where the army says it has intensified strikes on its enemies to regain control. The latest fighting has led the UN to warn of a possible return to full-blown civil war in the world's youngest nation.
Nyawan Koang, 30, and her five children had to walk for two days to reach the dusty village of Duk. They had fled Ayod, a remote and largely pastoralist county in Jonglei state, where armed clashes had been raging between the military and their opponents who had been fortifying their presence there since the beginning of the year. We were [wedged] between two forces: the SPLA-IO and the government. And their bullets kill us, she told the BBC.
Government forces are trying to retake territory from those loyal to First Vice-President Riek Machar, who has been suspended from his post after being accused of plotting to overthrow President Salva Kiir. Aligned with Machar are the Sudan People's Liberation Army in Opposition (SPLA-IO), who have been seizing towns in Jonglei and other neighbouring states.
As they advanced, threatening Jonglei's capital, Bor, they left devastated communities in their wake. Whole villages have been torched and civilians indiscriminately killed. The government has responded swiftly - and ferociously - deploying more troops to attack the positions of their rivals. But civilians were also attacked - including Nyawan's family. She lost both her parents when an air strike hit their small thatched-roof hut. Fire came from the sky and burned them, she said.
Nyawan's experience is one of many, as more than 280,000 people have been displaced by recent clashes. Thousands are now in Duk, where aid organisations provide food, medicine, and other basic essentials. The humanitarian crisis continues to deepen, with 60% of Jonglei's population facing hunger amidst the violence.
The conflict illustrates a troubling trend in South Sudan, which has struggled with cycles of violence since gaining independence in 2011. The complex environment is compounded by economic instability and inter-communal violence, prompting many to fear that a fragile peace could shatter once more.
Nyawan Koang, 30, and her five children had to walk for two days to reach the dusty village of Duk. They had fled Ayod, a remote and largely pastoralist county in Jonglei state, where armed clashes had been raging between the military and their opponents who had been fortifying their presence there since the beginning of the year. We were [wedged] between two forces: the SPLA-IO and the government. And their bullets kill us, she told the BBC.
Government forces are trying to retake territory from those loyal to First Vice-President Riek Machar, who has been suspended from his post after being accused of plotting to overthrow President Salva Kiir. Aligned with Machar are the Sudan People's Liberation Army in Opposition (SPLA-IO), who have been seizing towns in Jonglei and other neighbouring states.
As they advanced, threatening Jonglei's capital, Bor, they left devastated communities in their wake. Whole villages have been torched and civilians indiscriminately killed. The government has responded swiftly - and ferociously - deploying more troops to attack the positions of their rivals. But civilians were also attacked - including Nyawan's family. She lost both her parents when an air strike hit their small thatched-roof hut. Fire came from the sky and burned them, she said.
Nyawan's experience is one of many, as more than 280,000 people have been displaced by recent clashes. Thousands are now in Duk, where aid organisations provide food, medicine, and other basic essentials. The humanitarian crisis continues to deepen, with 60% of Jonglei's population facing hunger amidst the violence.
The conflict illustrates a troubling trend in South Sudan, which has struggled with cycles of violence since gaining independence in 2011. The complex environment is compounded by economic instability and inter-communal violence, prompting many to fear that a fragile peace could shatter once more.
