Germany has temporarily closed its embassy in South Sudan’s capital, Juba, amid escalating tensions that threaten to plunge the country into civil war.
The decision was announced by the German Foreign Ministry on March 22.
The closure follows rising violence after President Salva Kiir’s dismissal of the governor of Upper Nile state.
Clashes between government forces and an ethnic militia, allegedly allied with First Vice President Riek Machar, have intensified in the region.
The situation has drawn widespread concern, as South Sudan, the world’s youngest nation, teeters on the edge of another devastating conflict.
Seven years ago, the country emerged from a brutal civil war that left hundreds of thousands dead.
Now, fears of a relapse into violence grow stronger.
Germany’s Foreign Ministry expressed alarm, calling on both Kiir and Machar to take responsibility for halting the violence.
“After years of fragile peace, South Sudan is once again on the brink of civil war,” the ministry wrote on social media.
The United Nations’ peacekeeping chief, Nicholas Haysom, echoed these concerns, warning that the country risks sliding back into full-scale war.
As the nation faces its darkest days, the international community urges the country’s leaders to prioritize peace and uphold the fragile agreements that have kept the violence at bay for years.
