South Sudan: conflict-related casualties reach highest level in eight years at ICRC-supported hospitals
Nearly 1,000 weapon-wounded patients have been treated in hospitals supported by the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) in South Sudan so far this year, the highest figure recorded since 2018. This reflects the sharp resurgence in fighting in the country and raises major concerns.
Escalating violence since the beginning of the year has triggered a surge in patients wounded by gunshots, explosions and other weapons. Health facilities, especially in remote areas, are under extreme pressure, with many patients arriving after long delays that drastically reduce their chances of survival.
“We were eight people and among the eight, I was the only one who survived,” recalls Paul Gabriel Renze, a patient at the ICRC-supported Juba Military Hospital. “The rest were all shot dead, though I survived after being shot three times. They shot me in the waist and both legs. After three days, my wounds were rotting and developing maggots. The seven bodies were also rotting. Fortunately, someone passed by and saw me and immediately rushed to tell other people about me,” he added.
Paul was evacuated by the ICRC from Nagero county to Juba, where he has undergone multiple surgeries and continues to recover. Like many patients in South Sudan, he had to wait several days before receiving his first medical care, further complicating the work of surgical teams.
Nearly 400 patients received surgical care this year because the ICRC was able to transfer them by air from remote areas to hospitals.
This year has been particularly challenging for the medical team. Surgeons treat patients with serious leg, pelvis or chest injuries every day. These injuries require intensive treatment and, in some cases, multiple operations.
“The basic principle is to save lives. To save the limb. But as soon as life and limb have been saved, we broaden our perspective,” said Slobodan Miroslavljev, an ICRC surgeon whose team has operated on hundreds of patients at Juba Military Hospital this year.
Over the past eight years, ICRC surgical teams have performed over 25,000 surgeries on about 5,000 people wounded by weapons. For most patients, surgery is only one step of a long and difficult recovery.
In 2025, more than 3,700 people received physical rehabilitation treatment at ICRC-supported centres in Juba, Wau and Rumbek, up from 3,300 patients last year and the highest figure in a decade. The centres provide prosthetic limbs, crutches, wheelchairs and physiotherapy to help patients regain mobility and independence.
For Oluwafifunmi Odunowo, ICRC’s physical rehabilitation manager in South Sudan, the increase is the result of multiple factors, including the spillover effect of the conflict in neighbouring Sudan: “We've seen a growth in the numbers of persons from Sudan, either refugees or returnees from Sudan coming to access physical rehabilitation services. Globally, this year compared to last year, it's about 40% increase.”
The combined effects of conflict in South Sudan and Sudan, intercommunal violence and severe flooding throughout the year have devastated communities and exacerbated one of the world's most protracted humanitarian crises.
For further information, please contact:
Germain Mwehu, ICRC Juba, tel: +211 912 360 023, gemwehu@icrc.org
Mateo Jaramillo, ICRC Nairobi, tel: +254 716 897 265, mjaramillo@icrc.org
Length: 8:56
Location: Juba, South Sudan
Date Of Filming: 12 November 2025
Copyright: ICRC access all
On Screen Credit: ICRC written or logo.
00:00 - 00:16 Wide shots of a doctor checking on patients at Juba Military Hospital.
00:17 - 00:45 Medium shots of a doctor checking on patients at Juba Military Hospital.
00:46 - 01:06 Various external shots of patients at Juba Military Hospital.
01:07 - 01:25 Various shots of a patient, Paul Gabriel Renze, at Juba Military Hospital.
SOUNDBITE Paul Gabriel Renze, Patient – Juba Military Hospital
01:26 - 01:31 "We were tied and taken to the bush and everyone was told to lay down on the ground. We were eight people and among the eight, I was the only one who survived."
01.35 - 01:41 “The rest were all shot dead though I survived after being shot three times."
01:42 – 01:46 "They shot me in the waist and both legs."
01:47 – 01:53 "After three days, my wounds were rotting and developing maggots."
01:54 – 02:08 "The seven bodies were also rotting. Fortunately, someone passed by and saw me and immediately rushed to tell other people about me."
02:09 – 02:14 "I could not believe that I was alive because I was alone with no relative."
02:15 – 02:33 "But thanks so much to this hospital, when I was brought here, the hospital staff treated my wounds and took care of me."
02:34 - 03:00 Various shots of women patients at Juba Military Hospital.
03:01 - 03:13 Various shots of a nurse attending to a patient at Juba Military Hospital.
SOUNDBITE Aluel Malong, Patient – Juba Military Hospital
03:14 - 03:25 "I was shot and thereafter I was referred to hospital, I was in a very bad condition."
03:26 – 03:34 "I was taken to Yirol town where a doctor tried to handle my case but it was too complicated."
03:35 – 03:43 "A plane was sent to pick me and bring me to this hospital. I have received treatment here and my body has become better."
03:44 - 04:03 Various shots of a patient, Aluel Malong, at Juba Military Hospital.
04:04 - 04:45 Various shots of a surgeon and his team operating on a patient inside the operating theatre at Juba Military Hospital.
SOUNDBITE Slobodan Miroslavljev, ICRC Surgeon
04:46 - 05:02 "On a daily basis, we are getting difficult patients with the polytrauma, destroy the legs, pelvis, or a chest, and practically, no one of them is a simple patient that you can just come and treat easily and easily discharge."
05:03 – 05:22 "Some of them come repeatedly to OT[1], and you get attached to them to try to get the best outcome, and somehow you get involved in their recovery until they're fully functional or you get the maximum at this stage."
05:23 – 05:42 "The basic principle is to save the life and save the limb. But as soon as the life and limb has been saved, we increase our perspective, and then it comes physio and PRP[2] part, which can take a long time and which can be very demanding."
05:43 – 05:52 "But we keep our patient in the loop as long as he needs physio, PRP, and is fully functional for this current capacity."
05:53 - 06:30 Various shots of the ICRC Surgeon attending to a patient the operating theatre recovery room at Juba Military Hospital.
06:31 - 07:15 Various shots of patients at the Physical Rehabilitation Centre in Juba.
SOUNDBITE Oluwafifunmi Odunowo, ICRC’s Physical Rehabilitation Program Manager
07:16 - 07:26 "Overall, this year, we've seen a 40% increase in the number of service users that have been served in the three centres."
07:27 – 07:43 "The increase is linked first to the number of outreaches we've done, because then we've taken the services outside the centres to the communities where there is need. And in addition to that, we've seen more increase of service users coming to the centres."
07:44 – 07:58 "So it's a combination of both outreaches and in reaches where service users are coming to access services. A small component of that is also the influx of Sudanese and South Sudanese returning from Sudan because of the conflict in Sudan."
07:59 – 08:09 "That has also impacted our program. We've seen a growth in the numbers of persons from Sudan, either refugees or returnees from Sudan coming to access physical rehabilitation services."
08:10 – 08:27 "Globally, this year compared to last year, yes, I said it's about 40% increase. So as of end of October, this year, we had reached 3,700 service users. The total for last year was 3,300."
08:28 - 08:56 Various shots of patients attending a training session at the Physical Rehabilitation Centre in Juba.
Ends
[1] Operation theatre
[2] Physical Rehabilitation Programme
For further information, please contact:
Germain Mwehu, ICRC Juba, tel: +211 912 360 023, gemwehu@icrc.org
Mateo Jaramillo, ICRC Nairobi, tel: +254 716 897 265, mjaramillo@icrc.org
