U.N. report links Uganda to deadly airstrikes on civilians in South Sudan
A United Nations investigation has concluded that Uganda played a role in airstrikes carried out in South Sudan last year that left civilians dead and others severely burned.
The findings appear in a report by the United Nations Commission on Human Rights in South Sudan, which says joint aerial bombardments by South Sudanese and Ugandan forces struck communities where civilians were living. The commission noted that the attacks largely affected areas associated with the Nuer population, South Sudan’s second-largest ethnic group and a group widely linked to the opposition.
According to the report, the raids “targeted civilian-populated areas predominantly affecting Nuer communities in opposition-affiliated areas.”
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Ugandan soldiers are stationed in South Sudan to support the administration of Salva Kiir in its fight against forces aligned with opposition leader Riek Machar. Machar, who previously served as vice president, was suspended from the position in September after being charged with crimes including treason. He is currently standing trial and denies the accusations.
Ugandan military officials maintain that their presence in the country is lawful. They say their troops were invited by the South Sudanese government and are operating under a bilateral security arrangement.
Clashes have intensified in territories considered strongholds of Machar’s supporters, where government forces are attempting to break the grip of armed groups loyal to the opposition.
The U.N. report states that several of the strikes involved the use of “improvised incendiary devices,” weapons capable of causing extensive fires and severe burns.
Ugandan troops moved into South Sudan in March 2025 with heavy equipment such as tanks and armored vehicles. The deployment followed a militia assault on a military base near the Ethiopian border.
Soon after that attack, Machar was placed under house arrest over allegations that he had orchestrated the assault, claims he strongly denies. Since then, the government has increasingly relied on air power in its campaign against Machar’s forces and other armed factions.
Uganda has a long history of intervening in South Sudan’s conflicts. During the civil war that raged between 2013 and 2018, Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni repeatedly deployed troops to bolster Kiir’s forces, a move widely seen as helping shift the balance of the war.
One of the incidents highlighted in the report occurred in March 2025 in Wunaliet, a settlement roughly 15 kilometers from the capital, Juba. Witnesses told investigators that aircraft released “barrels of liquid that ignited,” setting homes ablaze. Survivors reported scenes of devastation, saying they saw “civilians set alight, including a boy burnt beyond recognition.” A nearby barracks housing opposition fighters was also struck.
The day after the bombing, Gen. Muhoozi Kainerugaba, Museveni’s son and Uganda’s top military commander, appeared to confirm the operation in a post on the social media platform X.
“Our air offensive will not stop until Riek Machar makes peace with my uncle Afande Salva,” he wrote.
Although Kiir is not actually related to Kainerugaba, the phrase reflected the close ties between the two governments. The post was later deleted but included a video that seemed to show explosions filmed from an aircraft.
Flight-tracking data reviewed by investigators indicated that a turboprop aircraft circling the area during the bombing had flown in from Uganda earlier that day and was being operated by the Ugandan military.
Even so, the report stops short of determining the full scope of Uganda’s involvement. It does not specify how many operations may have included Ugandan participation, but says the evidence suggests “high degrees of planning, operational integration and command-level authorization.”
Uganda rejected accusations of taking part in combat operations in South Sudan when similar claims surfaced in November. Officials also denied deploying “chemical weapons and barrel bombs” and insisted their forces do not target civilians.
Human rights groups have raised separate concerns about Uganda’s military support for South Sudan. In 2025, Amnesty International said Uganda had breached a 2018 United Nations arms embargo that bars countries from supplying most military assistance to South Sudan. A panel of experts reporting to the United Nations reached a similar conclusion later in the year.
Meanwhile, the fragile peace agreement signed in 2018 appears increasingly under strain. On Friday, South Sudan’s army ordered U.N. peacekeepers to withdraw from the town of Akobo within 72 hours as government troops continued fighting opposition forces.
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Aid agencies and nongovernmental organizations were also instructed to leave Akobo, located in Jonglei state, where the latest wave of clashes has been concentrated.
