South Sudan

the South Sudan People's Defense Forces (SSPDF) are largely focused on border and internal security; areas of concern include disputed national borders, conflict spillover from neighboring Sudan, banditry, and armed rebel groups and militias that continue to operate in the country since the civil war ended in 2020 the SSPDF, formerly the Sudan People’s Liberation Army (SPLA), was founded as a guerrilla movement against the Sudanese Government in 1983 and participated in the Second Sudanese Civil War (1983-2005); the Juba Declaration that followed the Comprehensive Peace Agreement of 2005 unified the SPLA and the South Sudan Defense Forces (SSDF), the second-largest rebel militia remaining from the civil war, under the SPLA name; in 2017, the SPLA was renamed the South Sudan Defense Forces (SSDF) and in September 2018 was renamed again as the SSPDF the UN Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS) has operated in the country since 2011 with the objectives of consolidating peace and security and helping establish conditions for the successful economic and political development of South Sudan; UNMISS has about 18,000 personnel assigned; the UN Interim Security Force for Abyei (UNISFA) has operated in the disputed Abyei region along the border between Sudan and South Sudan since 2011; its mission includes ensuring security, protecting civilians, strengthening the capacity of the Abyei Police Service, de-mining, monitoring/verifying the redeployment of armed forces from the area, and facilitating the flow of humanitarian aid; UNISFA has approximately 3,800 personnel assigned (2025)

South Sudan People’s Defense Force (SSPDF): Land Forces (includes Presidential Guard), Air Forces, Marine (Riverine) Forces, Reserve Forces; National (or Necessary) Unified Forces (NUF) Ministry of Interior: South Sudan National Police Service (SSNPS) (2025)

note 1: the NUF are being formed by retraining rebel and pro-government militia fighters into military, police, and other government security forces; the first operational NUF deployed in November 2023

note 2: numerous irregular forces operate in the country with official knowledge, including militias operated by the National Security Service (an internal security force under the Ministry of National Security) and proxy forces

18 (legal minimum age)-35 for voluntary military service for men and women; 12-24 months service (2025)

note: the UN reports that there are thousands of child soldiers in South Sudan serving in the SSPDF and militia forces although the South Sudanese Government has pledged to end the practice

the SSPDF inventory is a mix of primarily of Soviet-era armaments alongside limited quantities of more modern equipment such as armored personnel carriers from UAE (2025)

note: South Sudan has been under a UN arms embargo since 2018 (extended for 1 year in May 2025)

information varies; estimated 150-200,000 active Defense Forces (2025)

note: some active SSPDF personnel may be militia; the National/Necessary Unified Forces (NUF) were expected to have up to 80,000 personnel when training and integration is completed; the first batch of approximately 20,000 NUF personnel completed training in late 2022