Tension rise as Uganda sends more troops to South Sudan
Odonga Mathew
Sunday, March 23, 2025
Uganda has deployed its army, the Uganda People’s Defence Forces (UPDF), into South Sudan at the request of President Salva Kiir's government. The move, however, has sparked fresh political tensions and raised fears of another civil war in the region.
On March 11, Ugandan troops crossed into South Sudan under a mission originally meant to be low-profile, called Operation Mlinzi wa Kimya (Silent Guardians).
But it became public after Uganda’s military chief, Gen. Muhoozi Kainerugaba, posted on social media:"UPDF Commandos arriving in Juba to support South Sudan People’s Defence Forces (SSPDF) in the current crisis."
Later, Gen. Kainerugaba warned a local Nuer militia group, the White Army, saying:"Our mission in South Sudan has just begun. I want to offer the White Army an opportunity to surrender to UPDF forces before it is too late... if you dare fight us, you will all die."
Despite initial denial from Uganda’s Defence Minister, South Sudan’s Information Minister Michael Makuei later confirmed:
"The UPDF is here in Juba, and you have seen it... They have come to support their brothers and sisters in the South Sudan People’s Defence Forces (SSPDF)."
The presence of the UPDF has angered South Sudan’s opposition, particularly the SPLM/A-IO, led by First Vice President Riek Machar. The group withdrew from several peace-building committees, protesting what they called an act of war:"The invitation and the presence of Uganda Peoples’ Defense Forces (UPDF) in the country depicts a mens rea (intention) and preparation for war," read a statement from SPLM/A-IO on March 17.
Oyet Nathaniel Pierino, the group’s Deputy Chairman, pointed to three key issues: illegal detention of their members, UPDF’s deployment, and ethnic profiling of the Nuer community.
Civil society activist Edmund Yakani also blamed both Kiir and Machar for the rising violence:"While Uganda is one of the IGAD peace guarantors, it is effectively engaged with its forces in violating the spirit of the peace process."
Fighting has intensified in Upper Nile State, especially in Nasir. Airplanes from SSPDF and UPDF bombed the town twice. One airstrike on March 17 reportedly killed 21 people. Another, on March 19, wounded a mother and her two-year-old child.
Nasir County Commissioner Gatluak Lew Thiep confirmed the damage:"The market has been burned down... four bombs targeted my compound. This is where the mother and child were hurt."
Peace researcher Jan Pospisil says the UPDF’s entry worsens the already fragile peace. He explains the violence began in February 2025 after White Army members clashed with government soldiers. In response to heavy losses, the militia attacked and captured parts of the army base in Nasir on March 4.
On March 7, a botched evacuation led to 27 soldiers being killed, including top commander Majur Dak and a UN staff member. The government then arrested opposition leaders including Oil Minister Puot Kang Chol and SPLA-IO chief of staff Gabriel Duop Lam. Pospisil argues these arrests were politically motivated and inflamed tensions even more.
"The government’s narrative suggests that the opposition orchestrated the White Army attacks... However, this ignores the fact that the White Army has historically acted independently," said Pospisil.
According to political expert Carlo Koos, the tension is also tied to long-standing ethnic and personal rivalries between Kiir and Machar. Kiir is from the Dinka ethnic group, the largest in South Sudan, while Machar is Nuer, the second-largest.
Both were military leaders under John Garang during the liberation war from Sudan. But they later split in 1991, and Machar’s faction (SPLM-Nasir) was accused of massacring Dinka civilians in Bor—a tragedy that deepened ethnic conflict.
Though they signed a peace agreement in 2018, experts say both men remain focused on power and protecting their inner circles.
"The difficulty lies in agreeing on how to organise, distribute and cooperate within a nation that consists of dozens of ethnic groups," said Prof. Koos.
The deployment of Ugandan troops, arrests of opposition leaders, and rising ethnic violence have put the 2018 peace agreement in danger. Many now fear a return to full civil war. Uganda, which has previously intervened in South Sudan in 2013 and 2016, is worried that renewed fighting could send refugees across its border and increase instability in the region.
Although Uganda says its mission is to support peace, many observers argue its presence may be doing the opposite.
As civil society leader Yakani put it plainly:"President Kiir and First Vice President Machar bear the primary responsibility to stop the violence immediately."
