JUBA — The collapse of South Sudan’s power-sharing arrangement has driven a dramatic surge in violence and mass displacement across the country, raising fears of a return to full-scale civil war, according to a new report from The New Humanitarian.

The 2018 peace agreement that ended the five-year civil war has been unraveling for months, with key provisions left unimplemented. The breakdown of the power-sharing deal between President Salva Kiir and First Vice President Riek Machar has led to renewed fighting between their respective forces.

We are witnessing the systematic dismantling of the peace process, said a senior analyst with the International Crisis Group. The ceasefire is effectively dead, and the country is sliding back into conflict.

The violence has been particularly intense in Upper Nile, Jonglei, and Unity states, where entire communities have been forced to flee their homes. The UN estimates that over 100,000 people have been displaced since the beginning of 2026, adding to the nearly 2 million already internally displaced across the country.

Human Rights Watch has documented a pattern of gross human rights violations, including extrajudicial killings, sexual violence, and the burning of villages. The parties to the conflict are committing atrocities with impunity, said a HRW researcher. The international community must act urgently to protect civilians.

Diplomatic efforts to revive the peace process have so far failed, with regional mediators struggling to bring the warring parties back to the negotiating table. The African Union and IGAD have called for an emergency summit to address the crisis.