South Sudan civil war deepens; Indian peacekeeper honoured with Dag Hammarskjold Medal

South Sudan, the world's youngest country, has slipped deeper into civil war, and an Indian soldier serving under the United Nations flag is among the peacekeepers being honoured for the ultimate sacrifice. Naib Subedar Sujit Kumar Pradhan, who was killed in South Sudan in 2025, has been named for this year's Dag Hammarskjold Medal. This medal is given by the UN to peacekeepers who lose their lives while on UN peacekeeping missions. The UN in India also remembered another fallen Indian soldier, Lance Havildar Harbhajan Singh, around the International Day of UN Peacekeepers on 29 May 2026. (A peacekeeping mission is an operation in which soldiers and police from many countries serve under the UN to protect civilians and keep peace in a conflict zone.)

South Sudan became independent in 2011 after a long struggle to break away from Sudan, which had itself become independent in 1956 at the end of British-Egyptian rule. People in the southern region felt sidelined, and their fight for self-rule finally created a new nation. But the country has known little peace. Two leaders of the independence movement, President Salva Kiir (from the Dinka community) and his Vice President Riek Machar (from the Nuer community), turned on each other, and their power struggle exploded into civil war in 2013. A peace deal signed in 2018 brought Machar back as Vice President, but key promises, such as holding elections, disarming militias, and punishing wartime crimes, were never carried out. In March 2025 a militia loyal to Machar clashed with the army, Machar was placed under house arrest and charged with crimes including treason, and heavy fighting has continued since then.

The human cost has been severe. More than half of South Sudan's roughly 12 million people face acute food shortage, and the UN runs one of its largest food programmes in the country, with many families surviving on food air-dropped to them. A UN assessment in April 2026 warned that hunger could push about 56 per cent of the population into high levels of acute food insecurity between April and July 2026, and that around 700,000 children may face severe acute malnutrition, its deadliest form. Homes, schools, hospitals and aid facilities have been attacked, and a fresh civil war in neighbouring Sudan is sending refugees and foreign-made weapons across the border, putting even more strain on scarce resources.

For India, South Sudan is one of the most visible examples of its long role in UN peacekeeping. India is the second-largest contributor of troops to the United Nations Mission in South Sudan, known as UNMISS, with 4,268 personnel as of 31 March 2026. UNMISS was set up in 2011, almost at the same time the country was born, and its main tasks include protecting civilians and supporting humanitarian work. Indian soldiers have served in such missions across the world for decades, and the deaths of Indian peacekeepers underline both the danger of these deployments and India's steady commitment to global peace efforts.

For an aspirant, the key things to remember are: South Sudan is the world's youngest nation (independent in 2011); the warring leaders are Salva Kiir and Riek Machar; the relevant UN mission is UNMISS; India is the second-largest troop contributor to it; and the Dag Hammarskjold Medal is the UN's honour for peacekeepers who die in service. These facts connect to themes of UN peacekeeping, India's foreign policy, and humanitarian crises that often appear in exams.