UN report says Ugandan troops aided South Sudan in deadly airstrikes

Nairobi, Kenya — Uganda helped South Sudan carry out airstrikes that killed and badly burned civilians a year ago, according to a UN inquiry.

Joint aerial bombardments by South Sudan and Uganda “targeted civilian-populated areas, mainly affecting Nuer communities in opposition-affiliated areas,” a report by the UN Commission on Human Rights in South Sudan, referring to South Sudan’s second-largest ethnic group.

Ugandan troops have been deployed in South Sudan to help the government of President Salva Kiir against forces loyal to opposition figure Riek Machar, who was suspended as vice president in September after facing criminal charges. Ugandan military officials say the troops are in South Sudan at the invitation of the South Sudanese government and in accordance with a bilateral security agreement.

While Machar is currently on trial for crimes including treason, fighting has intensified in areas considered his strongholds, where government forces are trying to disperse the rebels.

It said the attacks cited in the UN report included widespread use of “improvised incendiary devices”.

Ugandan troops entered South Sudan in March 2025 with military hardware including tanks and armored vehicles. It happened shortly after an army overran a military garrison near the Ethiopian border.

Weeks later, Machar was placed under house arrest for his role in organizing the attack, charges he denies. The government has relied on airstrikes to prevail in the wider conflict with Machar’s forces and other armed groups.

Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni sent his troops to intervene in South Sudan’s 2013-2018 civil war on several occasions on behalf of Kiir’s forces, helping to turn the tide in his favor. The ongoing fighting threatens the 2018 peace accord.

During one attack in Wunaliet, 15 kilometers (9 miles) from the capital Juba in March 2025, houses were submerged after planes dropped “barrels of incendiary liquid”, witnesses told the UN commission. Survivors said they saw civilians “burned beyond recognition, including a boy”. A barrack was also hit by anti-soldiers.

A day after the attack, General Muhuzi Kainerugaba, Museveni’s son, acting as top military commander, posted on X that Uganda had bombed opposition forces.

“Our airstrikes will not stop until Riek Machar makes peace with my uncle Afande Salwa,” he wrote. Kiir is not actually Kainerugaba’s uncle, a term that shows the closeness of the two governments.

The post, which has since been deleted, appeared alongside a video showing the fiery explosions captured by an aircraft in flight.

Flight tracking data indicated the turboprop aircraft circling the area at the time of the bombing had arrived from Uganda earlier that day and was operated by the Ugandan military, the UN report said.

While the report does not definitively state how many operations Uganda was involved in or the exact nature of their involvement, it found “a high level of planning, operational integration and command-level authority”.

In November, Uganda denied participating in any military operations in South Sudan. It has denied using “chemical weapons and barrel bombs” and said it will not attack civilians.

Last year, Amnesty International said Uganda violated a 2018 UN arms embargo, which prohibits member states from providing most forms of military aid to South Sudan, including weapons and personnel. A United Nations panel of experts echoed that assessment in November.