Calling for an immediate ceasefire, he said more than 160 civilians have been killed in the past 17 days.
These include at least 139 on March 1 carried out by fighters from the Bul Nuer ethnic group in the northern administrative area of Ruweng.
Civilians ‘lured’ to death
On February 21, the High Commissioner reported that Juba government forces killed 21 civilians in the village of Pankor, in the eastern state of Jonglei.
“The soldiers lured them to gather at a location, promised to give them food aid, and then opened fire on them,” he said, noting that some of these acts may constitute war crimes.
Since December, both the government and opposition forces and their allied militias in South Sudan have launched attacks on communities in seven states, including Jonglei, where more than 280,000 people have fled their homes.
Ukrainian War: Civilians killed and injured in attacks that affected Kharkiv and Donetsk
Large-scale missile and drone attacks in Ukraine in recent days have killed and injured civilians and damaged vital infrastructure, the UN said on Tuesday.
Spokesman Stéphane Dujarric told reporters that the strikes between last Thursday and Monday affected multiple regions, with the city of Kharkiv being one of the most affected. Apartment blocks, a school and other civilian facilities were damaged, leaving several people dead or injured, including children.
Civilian casualties in Donetsk
In the Donetsk region, authorities also reported civilian casualties in Ukrainian-controlled areas, particularly around Kramatorsk.
Dujarric said the attacks had damaged ambulances, fire trucks, homes and energy and rail infrastructure in several regions.
He stressed that the conflict should not be overlooked while other crises develop. “As new conflicts begin… we must also remember that other conflicts continue and should not be forgotten,” he said.
Humanitarian agencies are providing emergency aid and recently delivered supplies to about 1,000 residents in frontline communities in Donetsk.
Gazans still forced to live hand to mouth, WFP warns
The UN World Food Program (WFP) warned on Tuesday that Palestinians are still hungry due to a lack of aid coming into the shattered enclave.
Last Tuesday, Israeli authorities reopened the key Kerem Shalom crossing into Gaza due to the outbreak of war with Iran, but humanitarian aid remains very limited, the WFP insists.
Speaking from Jerusalem, WFP Palestine director Shaun Hughes described chronic restrictions on aid deliveries, “which keep humanitarian assistance short, and that is why the food security situation – although it has improved in the four or five months since the ceasefire came into force in October – is extremely precarious,” he continued.
“And, as we saw last week, it can be reversed very quickly.”
Half rations for only two weeks
The UN agency currently has about two weeks’ worth of half rations available for about 1.5 million people in Gaza after being forced to reduce full rations earlier this year.
“We would like to get (rations) back up to 75 percent, but with the level of food we are receiving right now, that seems unlikely,” Hughes said.
The veteran aid worker noted that despite a ceasefire agreement between Hamas fighters and Israel, “there doesn’t appear to be one… because attacks continue along the line of control” maintained by Israeli forces, which runs through the enclave.
Last week, workers at a WFP warehouse took cover when small arms fire pierced the walls of the building where they were unloading trucks, Hughes said.
Listen to the full interview with UN News here:
Regional conflicts may force more Afghans to return home
The escalation of conflicts in the Middle East could prompt further returns of Afghans from neighboring countries in difficult conditions, the UN refugee agency, UNHCR, warned on Tuesday.
Although the border with Iran currently appears “deceptively calm,” tensions are rising and movements could increase in the coming weeks.
About 110,000 Afghans have returned from Iran since the beginning of the year, including about 1,700 a day since the recent escalation of regional hostilities.
In the past two years, more than five million Afghans have returned from neighboring countries, including nearly 1.9 million from Iran in 2025 alone.
Many families have faced repeated displacement, said UNHCR representative in Afghanistan Arafat Jamal.
“First forced to flee Afghanistan, then displaced again within Iran due to the conflict, and now returning once again to Afghanistan. And upon returning to Afghanistan, the triple displaced enter a spiral of precariousness and uncertainty,” he told reporters in Geneva.
Increased risks for children
The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) warned that increased returns could increase risks for children, explaining that families arriving at border crossings, like Islam Qala, often feel distressed after difficult journeys amid enormous uncertainty.
Nearly three million Afghans returned from neighboring countries in 2025, about 60 percent of them families with children.
“Today I heard firsthand from people arriving across the border describing almost impossible journeys, filled with uncertainty about what awaits them. Many are in urgent need of medical support and are visibly lost, searching for basic information about what to do next with their lives,” reported Dr. Tajudeen Oyewale, UNICEF Representative in Afghanistan.
Children separated from their caregivers face increased risks, including violence and exploitation. At the peak of returns last year, UNICEF supported more than 8,000 unaccompanied and separated children from Iran and Pakistan.
Humanitarian agencies are preparing to expand assistance at border points and in return areas, including medical care, vaccines, nutritional screening, clean water and child protection services.