Nairobi (AFP) – Amnesty International on Tuesday called on the United Nations Security Council to enforce the arms embargo imposed on South Sudan, describing the presence of Ugandan forces in the young nation as a clear violation of the resolution.
South Sudan is a poor country plagued by chronic security and political instability, but the resumption of fighting in Upper Nile State (north) between forces loyal to President Salva Kiir and those loyal to his rival, First Vice President Riek Machar-who was detained at the end of March-has raised fears of a new civil war in the fledgling state.
In March, following the outbreak of fighting in northeastern South Sudan between the army and a militia the government says is loyal to Vice President Riek Machar, neighboring Uganda announced it had deployed special forces to South Sudan to support Kiir at his request.
At the time, the Ugandan parliament considered that the decision to deploy these forces came at Kiir’s request “to avoid a potential security disaster.”
However, Amnesty International said Tuesday it has video footage documenting the entry of forces into the capital, Juba, as well as “armored personnel carriers and military trucks… carrying tanks,” in violation of the embargo’s provisions.
This embargo, which is set to expire on May 31, has been in effect since 2018, when a peace agreement ended a five-year civil war between Kiir and Machar.
Amnesty International confirmed that the deployment of Ugandan armed forces and military equipment to South Sudan since March 11, 2025, constitutes a flagrant violation of the arms embargo. The organization verified videos showing Ugandan soldiers arriving at Juba International Airport and armored vehicles with Ugandan license plates inside South Sudanese territory.
Under the embargo, exemptions for the supply, sale, or transfer of arms and related assistance are only permitted under narrowly defined circumstances and with prior notification to the UN Security Council Sanctions Committee. According to Amnesty, neither Ugandan nor South Sudanese authorities notified the committee or requested an exemption regarding the Ugandan deployment, thus violating the terms of the embargo.
Amnesty International urged the Security Council to renew and enforce the embargo in order to protect civilian lives and prevent the influx of more weapons into the conflict
