On 12 November, Amnesty International reported that South Sudanese authorities and the UN peacekeeping mission (UNMISS) had received warnings of an attack on the town of Abiemnom but failed to take sufficient measures to prevent it.
On 1 March 2026, between 1,000 and 1,500 armed men from Mayom County attacked the town of Abiemnom, near the Sudanese border. They shot residents in their homes, burned houses and looted part of the local hospital. Authorities reported that at least 213 people were killed, including children.
According to the report, both the government and UNMISS had received warnings approximately two weeks before the attack but failed to take appropriate measures. UNMISS sent 40 additional police officers only after the massacre. The mission said that budget cuts and reduced personnel had forced it to focus on protecting the roughly 2,500 people sheltering at its base.
Amnesty also criticised the government for failing to investigate the killings months later and called for an independent inquiry, as well as a public review of the UN mission’s response.
The report comes amid renewed fighting that threatens the 2018 peace agreement, which ended five years of civil war in South Sudan.
References:
Amnesty International. (2026, November 12). South Sudan: Authorities, UN must investigate failure to protect victims of Abiemnom massacre. https://www.amnesty.org/en/latest/news/2026/11/south-sudan-authorities-un-must-investigate-failure-to-protect-victims-of-abiemnom-massacre/
Associated Press. (2026, November 12). U.N. peacekeepers failed to protect civilians before South Sudan massacre, Amnesty says. AP News. https://apnews.com/article/south-sudan-un-peacekeepers-amnesty-abiemnom-massacre-836a5022f387acbe6f4de51fc9b808ca
Amnesty International. (2026, November 12). Mass graves in Abiemnom town taken by Amnesty International on 28 March 2026. [Photograph]. https://www.amnesty.org/en/wp-content/uploads/2026/11/319847-1959×2048.jpg. © Amnesty International.
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