Armed men ambushed a patrol travelling to a remote area of South Sudan on Monday (August 24, 2026), killing two UN peacekeepers, the United Nations Mission in South Sudan said. Though violence is rampant in the African country, attacks against peacekeepers are rare.
No group immediately claimed responsibility for the attack. The patrol was going to the area of Pajut in the state of Jonglei when it came under attack.
Seven others were wounded — three peacekeepers, two members of the South Sudanese police and two civilian staffers — the mission known as UNMISS said in a statement. The two peacekeepers killed and three injured were from Ethiopia, UN spokesperson Stéphane Dujarric said. The mission said it had deployed a “Quick Reaction Force” to secure the area and support the emergency response after the attack.
UN Secretary-General António Guterres condemned the ambush “in the strongest possible terms” and called for a prompt investigation that would lead to the prosecution of those responsible, Dujarric said later on Monday (August 24).
