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UN PhotoUNMISS / SOUTH SUDAN MALAKAL ROAD CONSTRUCTION
STORY: UNMISS / SOUTH SUDAN MALAKAL ROAD CONSTRUCTION
TRT: 03:38
SOURCE: UNMISS
RESTRICTIONS: NONE
LANGUAGE: ARABIC / ENGLISH / NATS
DATELINE: 15 JANUARY - 25 MARCH 2026, MALAKAL, SOUTH SUDAN
1. Various shots, waterlogging areas, homes submerged and people moved with small boats.
2. SOUNDBITE (Arabic) Daniel Deng, Fisherman and community leader:
“There were many houses in this area, but the flooding has been like this for five years now and people are not happy.”
3. Various shots, Indian engineers at work at the abandoned road
4. SOUNDBITE (English) Major Swamynath Gokulakannan, Indian Engineering Contingent Officer:
“Due to severe waterlogging, the original MSR [Main Supply Route] was no longer viable, so our team conducted multiple reconnaissance missions starting from 15 January and established a new alignment. We have completed a 154-kilometer road, which includes 120 kilometers of new alignment and 34 kilometers along the old MSR.”
5. Various shots, Indian engineers at work at the alternative new road
6. Wide shot, people moving with their cattle
7. SOUNDBITE (Arabic) Daniel Deng, Fisherman and community leader:
“There were many houses in this area, but the flooding has been like this for five years now and people are not happy.”
8. Various shots, ATVs going through water
9. SOUNDBITE (English) Alfred Orono Orono, UNMISS Head of Field office in Malakal:
“This road is for peace. It is sign that peace has returned to Upper Nile, and UNMISS is instrumental in ensuring that peace is consolidated, when the IDPs [Internally Displaced Persons] move from the former POC [Protection of Civilians] site and move back to their settlements and this road becomes busy, transporting people, goods and services from Malakal to Renk, vice versa, and even all the way to Sudan and also connect us to Bunj.”
10. Pan right, women and children walking on the road
11. Various shots, Indian engineers at work
12. Wide shot, Rwandan peacekeepers protecting engineers at work
In Upper Nile, extraordinary flooding is creating new challenges for communities already struggling with persistent conflict, widespread displacement, and extreme economic hardship.
SOUNDBITE (Arabic) Daniel Deng, Fisherman and community leader:
“There were many houses in this area, but the flooding has been like this for five years now and people are not happy.”
The United Nations Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS) is working with local authorities and communities to strengthen resilience in the face of mounting challenges, including rehabilitating roads which have been washed away or submerged across the State.
Peacekeeping engineers from India have spent months toiling in the searing hot sun to open a 154-kilometer route linking Malakal to Renk in the far north, close to the border with neighboring Sudan, and other remote locations, such as Akoka, Bunj, Paloch, and Melut.
SOUNDBITE (English) Major Swamynath Gokulakannan, Indian Engineering Contingent Officer:
“Due to severe waterlogging, the original MSR [Main Supply Route] was no longer viable, so our team conducted multiple reconnaissance missions starting from 15 January and established a new alignment. We have completed a 154-kilometer road, which includes 120 kilometers of new alignment and 34 kilometers along the old MSR.”
After surveying the terrain, the peacekeepers had no option but to abandon low-lying parts of the road that were too severely damaged by rising water from the Nile River and build an alternate route. The newly opened road is now enabling communities to travel safely, boosting trade and economic growth, and supporting peacebuilding efforts.
SOUNDBITE (Arabic) Joseph Peter, Community member:
“The new upper road is shorter compared to the waterway road, that one had many corner turns compared to this southern road, which is good, and if white soil is placed on top, I believe vehicles will move freely without obstacles during rainy season.”
The damaged roads were also impeding the access of peacekeepers to remote, conflict and flood-affected locations with the mission relying on All-Terrain-Vehicles provided by India to travel across the rough landscape. The improvements will help overcome this challenge so that a protective presence can be provided to reassure communities, build confidence and peace.
SOUNDBITE (English) Alfred Orono Orono, UNMISS Head of Field office in Malakal: “This road is for peace. It is sign that peace has returned to Upper Nile, and UNMISS is instrumental in ensuring that peace is consolidated, when the IDPs [Internally Displaced Persons] move from the former POC [Protection of Civilians] site and move back to their settlements and this road becomes busy, transporting people, goods and services from Malakal to Renk, vice versa, and even all the way to Sudan and also connect us to Bunj.”
These connections may seem simple and expected in developed countries but in South Sudan, where infrastructure has been decimated by decades of conflict and under-investment, the work of the peacekeeping engineers helps save and change lives for the better.
