United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres warned of a rapidly deteriorating crisis in South Sudan on Saturday and called for urgent dialogue, immediate release of detained officials, and renewed commitment to the 2018 peace agreement.

He further appealed to the regional and international community to speak with one voice in support of peace in South Sudan.

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“All the dark clouds of a perfect storm have descended upon the people of the world’s newest country – and one of the poorest,” Guterres said while addressing reporters at UN Headquarters in New York.

“South Sudan may have fallen off the world’s radar, but we cannot let the situation fall into the abyss,” he added and urged South Sudanese leaders to “put down the weapons” and “put all the people of South Sudan first.”

Guterres called for the restoration of the Government of National Unity and the full implementation of the peace agreement, which remains the only legal path to free and fair elections in December 2026.

“We fully support the initiative to deploy the African Union Panel of the Wise,” he said, adding that he had spoken with the Chairperson of the AU Commission.

South Sudan is now facing what the Secretary-General described as a security emergency, political upheaval, humanitarian catastrophe, displacement crisis, economic collapse and a severe funding shortfall all at once.

Half the population is severely food insecure, he warned, while three out of four people require humanitarian assistance.

Meanwhile, over one million people have fled across the border from Sudan since fighting broke out there last year between rival militaries, while cholera has also been reported, compounding the crisis.

Combined with growing regional spillover from the conflict in neighbouring Sudan, Guterres painted a dire picture of a country on the edge.

“Let’s not mince words. What we are seeing is darkly reminiscent of the 2013 and 2016 civil wars, which killed 400,000 people,” he said