UN votes to cut the peacekeeping force in South Sudan from 17,000 to 12,000

Patients sit inside a medical clinic where children with malnutrition are treated, in Chuil, Nyirol County, Jonglei State, South Sudan, Friday, April 10, 2026. (AP Photo/Joseph Falzetta)

UNITED NATIONS — The UN Security Council voted Thursday to reduce the ceiling for the peacekeeping force in conflict-torn South Sudan from 17,000 to 12,000 troops with a mandate to prevent a return to civil war in the world’s newest nation.

The vote on the U.S.-drafted resolution was 13-0 with Russia and China abstaining. It extends the mandate of the force until April 30, 2027.

U.S. Ambassador Mike Waltz told the council the resolution seeks to get the force “back to basics” — keeping the peace, protecting civilians and supporting access to humanitarian aid.

There were high hopes when oil-rich South Sudan gained independence from Sudan in 2011 after a long conflict. But the country slid into a civil war in December 2013, largely based on ethnic divisions, when forces loyal to Salva Kiir, an ethnic Dinka, battled those loyal to Riek Machar, an ethnic Nuer.

More than 400,000 people were killed in the war, which ended with a peace agreement in 2018 and a national unity government with Kiir as president and Machar as vice president. But Kiir’s government put Machar under house arrest in March 2025, accusing him of subversive activities, and he now faces treason charges.

Machar’s removal coincided with a sharp increase in violence and a breakdown of the 2018 peace deal, though a long-delayed presidential election is still scheduled for December.

Waltz said the U.S. is concerned that Kiir’s government is “exploiting international support and obstructing those that are genuinely trying to help.”

For example, Waltz said, between October and March the UN force recorded more than 480 incidents where peacekeepers were blocked, humanitarian access was denied, repatriation flights were obstructed, bases were forced to close “and millions of dollars were lost and wasted.”

He said the United States is serious when it says the UN’s far-flung peacekeeping missions are meant to be temporary to help governments “navigate peace and security crises.”

Russia’s deputy ambassador Anna Evstigneeva argued for maintaining the mission’s ceiling.

“The mission must be ready for any scenario and security challenges,” she said. “It should have a sufficient level of resources for that.”

Edith M. Lederer, The Associated Press