Uganda helped South Sudan carry out airstrikes that killed and severely burned civilians last year, according to a report by a United Nations investigative body.
The U.N. Commission on Human Rights in South Sudan said joint aerial bombardments by South Sudanese and Ugandan forces targeted civilian-populated areas, mainly affecting Nuer communities in opposition-controlled regions. The Nuer are South Sudan’s second-largest ethnic group.
Ugandan troops are currently deployed in South Sudan to support the government of President Salva Kiir against forces loyal to opposition leader Riek Machar, who was suspended as vice president in September after facing criminal charges.
Ugandan military authorities say their troops are in South Sudan at the invitation of the government and under a bilateral security agreement.
Machar is currently on trial for several offenses including treason.
Fighting has intensified in areas considered strongholds of his supporters as government troops attempt to disperse rebel forces.
Use of Incendiary Devices. The U.N. report said the attacks involved the widespread use of “improvised incendiary devices.”
Ugandan forces entered South Sudan in March 2025 with military equipment including tanks and armored vehicles, shortly after a militia overran a military garrison near the Ethiopian border.
Weeks later, Machar was placed under house arrest for allegedly orchestrating the attack — charges he denies. Since then, the South Sudanese government has relied increasingly on aerial bombardments in its expanding conflict with opposition groups.
Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni has previously deployed troops to South Sudan during the 2013–2018 civil war, intervening several times in support of Kiir’s government and helping shift the balance of power.
Witness Accounts of the Bombing
One attack cited in the report occurred in March 2025 in Wunaliet, about 15 kilometers from the capital Juba.
Witnesses told the U.N. commission that aircraft dropped “barrels of liquid that ignited,” setting homes ablaze.
Survivors reported seeing civilians burn, including a boy who was burned beyond recognition. A nearby barracks housing opposition soldiers was also struck.
A day after the attack, Gen. Muhoozi Kainerugaba, son of Museveni and a senior military commander, posted on X that Uganda had bombed opposition forces.
“Our air offensive will not stop until Riek Machar makes peace with my uncle Afande Salva.”
Although Kiir is not actually Kainerugaba’s uncle, the phrase reflects the close relationship between the two governments.
The post, which was later deleted, included a video appearing to show explosions filmed from an aircraft.
According to the report, flight tracking data showed that a turboprop aircraft circling the bombing area had arrived earlier that day from Uganda and was operated by the Ugandan army.
The commission said it could not conclusively determine how many operations involved Uganda or the exact extent of its participation, but there appeared to be “high degrees of planning, operational integration and command-level authorization.”
In November, Uganda denied taking part in combat operations in South Sudan. It also rejected accusations that it used chemical weapons or barrel bombs and said it does not target civilians.
Last year, Amnesty International accused Uganda of violating a 2018 U.N. arms embargo that restricts member states from providing most forms of military assistance to South Sudan, including weapons and personnel. A U.N. panel of experts made a similar assessment in November.
Renewed fighting threatens the fragile 2018 peace agreement that ended South Sudan’s civil war.
On Friday, South Sudan’s military ordered U.N. peacekeepers to leave Akobo within 72 hours as government forces clashed with opposition fighters.
U.N. agencies and humanitarian organizations were also told to evacuate the town in Jonglei state, which has become the epicenter of the fighting.