Driven by concern for the safety and wellbeing of families displaced from Nagero county in Western Equatoria, this week, peacekeepers from the United Nations Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS) travelled more than 70 kilometers to remote Bazia, a payam in South Sudan’s Western Bahr El Ghazal.
An eruption of conflict in mid-October 2025 between the South Sudan People’s Defense Forces (SSPDF) and opposition forces forced more than 16,000 people to flee their homes, over the border in Bazia.
The joint assessment mission—comprising UNMISS representatives and state representatives—aimed to find out about security and humanitarian challenges in the area. What they saw was concerning—acute food shortages, a lack of clean drinking water, limited access to healthcare, and no opportunities for education.
For Susan Okello, Protection, Transition, and Reintegration Officer, UNMISS, the presence of government representatives and the UN Peacekeeping mission brought hope to people, if not immediate relief to these issues as humanitarian partners are being forced to scale down aid or withdraw entirely from locations across the country due to funding shortages, leaving countless people without the help they urgently need:
“We joined this government-led delegation, and our Bangladesh peacekeepers conducted a free medical camp and distributed dignity kits to women. As a Mission, we remain committed to supporting the government in strengthening security so these families can return home.”
The scale of the crisis was greater than anyone had expected.
“We were not expecting such a large number of people in desperate need of urgent assistance,” said Musa Barsham, Chairperson of the Relief and Rehabilitation Commission. “Their condition is dire, yet we have no immediate resources to support them. We appeal to all people to help.”
According to Dr. Francis Michael Hassan, State Minister of Health and Chairperson of the Government Committee, the initial assessment confirmed that among those displaced were about 700 schoolchildren, 41 of whom were preparing for their Primary Eight leaving examinations.
“Our findings will be compiled into a report to be presented to the government for further intervention because they need all the help they can get, particularly school-going children who should return to the classroom as soon as possible.”
For now, these families of Nagero wait in Bazia—tired but hopeful that peace will soon allow them to return home.
“We are here because of insecurity,” explained Alex Marko Nazamba, one of those displaced and also Executive Director of Nagero county. “We need the Nagero County Commissioner to return and assure us of our safety and we will return.”
Distributed by APO Group on behalf of United Nations Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS).
