As fighting spirals in South Sudan, a humanitarian crisis looms for displaced survivors

AKOBO, South Sudan (AP) — Kool Gatyen Pajock was in a South Sudan hospital while a physiotherapist wrapped bandages around the 18-month-old’s legs under the watchful eye of his grandmother, Nyayual Chuol.

Government forces put a bullet in the baby’s leg and killed his parents, according to Chuol, who carried him to the hospital in Akobo, South Sudan’s northeastern region near Ethiopia, from their village 130 kilometers (80 miles) to the west.

They were among the 280,000 people who have been displaced in the past two months by a renewed conflict in Jonglei state between the government army, known as the South Sudan People’s Defense Forces, and the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement In Opposition.

“I have nothing in my hand now to take care of this baby,” Chuol said. “I’m worried about my four children who ran in different directions when the attack took place. I don’t know where they are now.”

The fighting further threatens a fragile peace reached in 2018 after a five-year civil war.

Opposition leader Riek Machar was named first vice president alongside President Salva Kiir under a 2020 power-sharing agreement. But Kiir placed Machar under house arrest following new outbreaks of violence in March. Machar was charged in September with treason along with seven opposition members linked to an attack on government forces.

The conflict escalated in December when opposition forces seized government outposts in Jonglei. The government has conducted a counteroffensive since January with aerial bombardments and ground assaults, despite an official commitment to the peace agreement.

In addition to being forced from their homes, civilians have suffered significant casualties.

“People are still fearing that the government army may come and attack here,” Chuol said. “This is what is worrying me right now.”

Nyankhiay Gatluak Jock, 28, escaped from her village of Walgak after a government attack in early February.

“They bombed us from the gunship helicopter, and after that the soldiers came with their cars and started shooting,” said Jock, who was among 42,000 displaced people sheltering in Akobo under the protection of the United Nations Mission in South Sudan.

“We want to ask the president to tell his army to differentiate between the combatants and the civilians,” Jock said while breastfeeding two children in a church alongside other displaced women and youth.

After government forces bombed a hospital operated by humanitarian group Doctors Without Borders on Feb. 3, Nyaphan Nyang Lual headed for Akobo with her husband, daughter and 1-month-old granddaughter. On the road, her husband was shot and her daughter was abducted by armed youths.

Lual reached Akobo with her granddaughter, Bhan Tut Mut, but could not find food assistance and worried for the infant who has developed diarrhea.

“We took her to the clinic but there is no medicine there, and I cannot afford to buy from the pharmacy,” Lual said.

Humanitarian services have not been spared. The U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs said 13 health facilities in Jonglei were “looted or partially destroyed.” Reports of widespread sexual violence also have emerged.

Funding cuts and government-imposed restrictions on humanitarian organizations have resulted in a lack of resources and supplies, according to humanitarian workers who said they were frustrated by an inability to offer the necessary level of assistance.

“We have nothing … no feeding, no medication,” said Susan Tab, a reproductive health officer in Akobo with Nile Hope, a South Sudanese organization. “The only thing we can provide to help these displaced people is psychosocial support.”

U.N. humanitarian chief Tom Fletcher visited Akobo on Feb. 21 during a tour of South Sudan's areas impacted by the fighting.

During nearly three years of civil war in Sudan to the north and conflicts in nearby countries in the Horn of Africa, Fletcher said South Sudan has become “one of the most neglected crises in the world right now.”

“I want to make this crisis more visible to the public. And I want them to demand change. To demand funding. To demand political engagement to end this war,” Fletcher said.

He was greeted in Akobo by thousands of displaced women and children who remained unsure of their safety and future. Some held posters with handwritten messages, including one with the blunt report, “They killed everyone."

“Help is coming,” Fletcher told the survivors.

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Nyaphan Nyang Lual, 36 years old, an internally displaced person, shelters at a church compound in Akobo, South Sudan, Saturday, Feb. 21, 2026. (AP Photo/Florence Miettaux)

Traditional leaders line up to receive Tom Fletcher, the U.N. under-secretary-general for humanitarian affairs and head of OCHA, in Akobo, Jonglei state, South Sudan, Saturday, Feb. 21, 2026. (AP Photo/Florence Miettaux)

Internally displaced people gather at a church compound in Akobo, Jonglei state, South Sudan, Saturday, Feb. 21, 2026. (AP Photo/Florence Miettaux)

Tom Fletcher, the U.N. under-secretary-general for humanitarian affairs and head of OCHA, center, talks with patients at Akobo County Hospital in South Sudan, Saturday, Feb. 21, 2026. (AP Photo/Florence Miettaux)

Nyayual Chuol, right, watches her 18-month-old grandson Kool Gatyen Pajock, who was shot during the conflict-hit state, receive treatment at the Akobo County Hospital in South Sudan, Saturday, Feb. 21, 2026. (AP Photo/Florence Miettaux)

SEATTLE (AP) — Hilary Knight doesn't want to let what she called a “distasteful” joke by President Donald Trump about the gold-medal winning U.S. women's Olympic hockey team get in the way of a historic performance by American women across all sports at the Milan Cortina Games.

“I just thought the joke was distasteful and unfortunate," Knight said on Wednesday alongside fellow Olympians Alex Carpenter, Hannah Bilka and Cayla Barnes at the Seattle Space Needle ahead of their return to play for the Seattle Torrent of the Professional Women's Hockey League. "And, I think just the way women are represented, it’s a great teaching point and really shines light on how women should be championed for their amazing feats.”

Knight, a two-time gold medalist whose 15 goals and 33 points in Olympic competition are the most by a U.S. hockey player at the Games, said she's not focusing on an offhand comment by Trump after the American men topped Canada for gold in overtime on Sunday.

Talking on a speakerphone in the postgame locker room, Trump extended an invitation to the White House to the men's team, then added, “We’re going to have to bring the women’s team, you do know that.” The president later joked that if he didn't extend the invitation, he would probably be impeached.

While the vast majority of the men's team flew to Washington on Tuesday and visited Trump in the White House before being guests at the State of the Union, many of the women's players were on the way back to their professional or college clubs.

USA Hockey, which said it was “honored” by the invitation, cited logistical issues as the major hurdle that prevented the women's team from stopping by the White House. The team was originally scheduled to fly commercially into New York on Monday, but was forced to reroute through Atlanta due to a snowstorm in the Northeast.

Several players were going to stick around New York for promotional purposes, even ringing the bell at the New York Stock Exchange. Those scheduled appearances had to be canceled because of flight changes.

Knight lamented that the video — which included several players laughing after Trump's comments — took on a life of its own and didn't convey the true nature of the relationship between the men's and women's US hockey programs.

“The men’s and the women’s team did it together,” Knight said. “And, that’s super special. It’s never been done in our program’s history. It’s something we’re extremely proud about. But these women are amazing. And whatever’s going on should never outshine or minimize their work and our success on the world stage.”

Kelly Pannek, a forward on the women's team, told reporters “the video is what it is" but added it was a “special feeling” spending time with the men's team after they won the first Olympic gold for the U.S. in 46 years. Pannek believes there is mutual respect and support on both sides.

Goaltender Jeremy Swayman told reporters in Boston after returning to practice with the Bruins that the men “should have reacted differently” to Trump's remarks.

“To share that gold medal with them is something that we’re forever grateful for,” Swayman said. "And now that we’re home we get to share that together forever and see the incredible support we have from the USA and share this incredible gold medal.”

The earliest the U.S. women could make a White House visit would be in late spring after the conclusion of the PWHL season.

The U.S. won 12 gold medals in Milan Cortina, with women playing a hand in eight of them. The women's hockey team outscored opponents 33-2 on its way to the top of the podium.

“This was the best American women’s hockey team, the best American team we’ve ever put together on the world stage when the lights have been the brightest ever,” Knight said. “And so, I think everybody felt that going through the tournament. And, I want to celebrate. I want people to be remembered for that. I want the legacy of this team to be remembered.”

AP Winter Olympics: https://apnews.com/hub/milan-cortina-2026-winter-olympics

United States' Hilary Knight (21) celebrates after scoring her side's opening goal during a women's ice hockey gold medal game between the United States and Canada at the 2026 Winter Olympics, in Milan, Italy, Thursday, Feb. 19, 2026. (AP Photo/Hassan Ammar)

Members of the United States' Olympic gold medal hockey team enter the gallery as President Donald Trump delivers the State of the Union address to a joint session of Congress in the House chamber of the U.S. Capitol in Washington, Tuesday, Feb. 24, 2026. (Kenny Holston/The New York Times via AP, Pool)

United States' Kendall Coyne, left, and United States' Hilary Knight celebrate after victory ceremony for women's ice hockey at the 2026 Winter Olympics, in Milan, Italy, Thursday, Feb. 19, 2026. (AP Photo/Hassan Ammar)