SOUTH SUDAN / MUNDRI DISPLACEMENT

In the quiet compound of a church in Mundri, Western Equatoria State of South Sudan, more than 4,000 people are trying to rebuild a sense of normal life. They are mothers, fathers, grandparents, and children - families forced to flee their homes in Greater Mundri late last year after confrontations between armed groups and the South Sudan Defense Forces. Entire villages emptied almost overnight, as people ran toward neighboring communities in search of safety. UNMISS

• Video Length: 00:03:31
• Production Date: 17 March 2026
• Asset Language: English
• Corporate Name: UNITED NATIONS MISSION IN SOUTH SUDAN – UNMISS
• Subject Topical: INTERNALLY DISPLACED PERSONS
• Geographic Subject: SOUTH SUDAN
• MAMS Id: 3545259
• Parent Id: 3545259
• Alternate Title: unifeed260317b

Description

STORY: SOUTH SUDAN / MUNDRI DISPLACEMENT
TRT: 03:31
SOURCE: UNMISS
RESTRICTIONS: NONE
LANGUAGES: ENGLISH / ARABIC / NATS

DATELINE: 17 MARCH 2026, MUNDRI, SOUTH SUDAN

Shotlist

1. Various shots, displaced persons
2. SOUNDBITE (Arabic) Aida Stephen, displaced person:
“We arrived here and the survival is hard. We must hustle, fetching water, collecting firewood. We work for the host community like digging cassava to feed our children. We don’t have shelter; all our makeshift tents are damaged already. When it’s raining, we don’t know what to do. We are just here. We don’t know whether peace will come or not. We just pray to God—nothing to do.”
3. Various shots, displaced persons
4. SOUNDBITE (Arabic) Elizabeth Joy, displaced person:
“We came here with children, spending seven days on our way because the children couldn’t walk the long distance. We faced a lot of hardship. By God’s grace, we managed to reach here; nothing bad happened to us. We pray to God for peace to prevail.”
5. Various shots, displaced persons
6. SOUNDBITE (English) Thomas Bazawi, UNMISS Protection, Transition and Reintegration Officer:
“Insecurity for the past one year has impacted Mundri East. There is an influx of internally displaced persons’ that have run to Mundri west town. These IDPS – during our interaction and engagement with them, we identified quite a number of protection concerns. We are also trying to engage with the authorities in Mundri East, especially the county commissioner, to see the possibility of initiating a peace dialogue to improve the environment that will support returns.”
7. Wide shot, displaced people

Storyline

In the quiet compound of a church in Mundri, Western Equatoria State of South Sudan, more than 4,000 people are trying to rebuild a sense of normal life.

They are mothers, fathers, grandparents, and children — families forced to flee their homes in Greater Mundri late last year after confrontations between armed groups and the South Sudan Defense Forces. Entire villages emptied almost overnight, as people ran toward neighboring communities in search of safety.

Today, makeshift shelters and sticks crowd the church grounds. When the rain falls, many of them collapse.
For 38-year-old mother of eight, Aida Stephen, survival has become a daily struggle.

Her youngest child clings to her side as she speaks. Behind her, other women cook what little food they have managed to gather.

Aida Stephen said: “We arrived here and the survival is hard. We must hustle—fetching water, collecting firewood. We work for the host community like harvesting cassava to feed our children. We don’t have shelter; all our makeshift tents are damaged already. When it’s raining, we don’t know what to do. We are just here. We don’t know whether peace will come or not. We just pray to God—nothing to do.”

For many families, reaching Mundri meant walking for days. Elizabeth Joy, a displaced person, said: “We came here with children, spending seven days on our way because the children couldn’t walk the long distance. We faced a lot of hardship. By God’s grace, we managed to reach here; nothing bad happened to us. We pray to God for peace to prevail.”

Peacekeepers from the United Nations Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS) have visited the site, meeting displaced families and local leaders to assess urgent needs and encourage dialogue to prevent further violence.

Thomas Bazawi, Officer with UNMISS Protection, Transition and Reintegration, said, “Insecurity for the past one year has impacted Mundri east. There is an influx of internally displaced persons’ that have run to Mundri west town. These IDPS – during our interaction and engagement with them, we identified quite a number of protection concerns. We are also trying to engage authorities in Mundri East, especially the county commissioner, to see the possibility of initiating a peace dialogue to improve the environment that will support returns.”

For now, families remain in limbo — unable to return home, uncertain of what comes next. The crisis in Greater Mundri is one of many displacement situations across South Sudan, where cycles of violence continue to uproot communities and disrupt fragile recovery efforts.