South Sudan: Ugandan army denies targeting civilians in the country

From our correspondent in Nairobi, Gaëlle Laleix

“Never in its 45-year history has the Ugandan army targeted civilians, which is why it is so popular wherever it has operated,” the Ugandan Ministry of Defense said in a statement.

According to them, the Ugandan operation in South Sudan has been remarkable. Not only did it avoid fighting in Juba, the capital, but it also “prevented attacks by the White Army against civilians,” a militia of the Nuer ethnicity, the second largest in the country.

“Sudanese Southern Sudan: a ‘risk of massive violence against civilians,'” warn independent UN experts.

It was in March 2025 that the Ugandan army intervened to protect Juba, at the request of Sudanese authorities who were under pressure from various rebel groups. However, the United Nations human rights commission believes that the Ugandan forces were also actively involved in the fighting in regions opposed to the regime.

They notably bombed “areas populated by Nuer civilians.” The United Nations deplore numerous deaths, serious injuries, and destruction of homes.

The Ugandan army has already intervened twice in South Sudan: in 2013 at the beginning of the civil war, and then in 2016, still in support of President Salva Kiir.

“Sudan South Sudan: confusion around a deployment of special forces by Uganda”