South Sudan’s Oil Flows at Risk as Neighboring Sudan’s Conflict Intensifies

South Sudan is facing a looming economic crisis as Sudan’s army threatens to shut down oil export facilities, jeopardizing the oil-reliant nation’s primary revenue source. The shutdown, prompted by drone attacks from the paramilitary RSF on Port Sudan, the army’s seat of power, could collapse South Sudan’s fragile economy and ignite deeper involvement in Sudan’s civil war. Juba’s alleged ties with the RSF and the SPLM-N (Sudan People’s Liberation Movement–North), groups opposed to Sudan’s army, have further strained relations. With oil revenues funding government patronage and basic services, any halt could destabilize the peace, push civil servants into unrest, and worsen poverty. As tensions escalate, South Sudan teeters on the edge of becoming a proxy battleground in its northern neighbor’s war.

Aljazeera