(WESTERN EQUATORIA / UNITY) – One South Sudan People’s Defence Forces (SSPDF) officer has been killed and another wounded following armed clashes in Maringi, Tambura County, local officials confirmed on Wednesday.
Tambura County Commissioner, Mathew Mabenge, said the injured officer sustained a gunshot wound to the leg during the confrontation, which he described as a “heavy exchange of fire” between government troops and unidentified armed groups.
Mabenge explained that investigations are under way to establish the identity and motives of the attackers. “We do not have any information about the side of the criminals,” he said, adding that security forces remain deployed in the area to maintain stability.
The incident has heightened concerns about sporadic insecurity in Western Equatoria, a region that has in recent years seen recurring violence involving armed groups, displacing communities and complicating humanitarian access.
Meanwhile, in a separate development, heavy flooding has displaced hundreds of families in Unity State’s Panyijiar County. Local authorities say rising river levels and continuous rainfall have left large parts of the county submerged, forcing residents to abandon their homes.
County Commissioner Gabriel Majok Mani said communities from the main towns of Ganyliel and Nyal were moving to higher ground in search of safety. He warned that the scale of displacement risked worsening humanitarian conditions in an already fragile setting.
“People are leaving their homes because of the floods. The situation is straining living conditions and we are appealing for urgent support to assist the affected communities,” Mani said.
Residents have reported losing shelters, farmland and livestock to the floodwaters, leaving many families dependent on limited humanitarian aid. With transport routes cut off by rising waters, delivery of food and medicine has become increasingly difficult.
Humanitarian agencies have long warned that Unity State remains one of the most flood prone areas in South Sudan, with recurrent flooding destroying livelihoods and increasing vulnerability to hunger and disease.