One of the first insurgent Anyanya attacks on the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) took place at the Wau barracks in January 1964.

[6] Following the outbreak of the South Sudanese Civil War, the town has experienced numerous clashes, massacres, and much destruction at the hands of anti-government as well as government forces.

They clashed with SPLA loyalists, and then fled into the rural countryside, joining a long march of other deserters to Sudan.

[8] About 700 Nuer civilians subsequently sought protection at Wau's UNMISS base; most of them were family members of the deserted soldiers, while others were students.

[10] In April 2017, Dinka soldiers of the SPLA and Mathiang Anyoor militiamen carried out a massacre of non-Dinka civilians in the town, killing up to 50 people,[11][12] and displacing thousands.

[7][16][17] In 2008, Wau was the third-largest city in South Sudan, by population, behind the national capital Juba and Malakal, in Upper Nile State.

[19] Its Cathedral of St. Mary (built 1905, before the erection of the former Apostolic Prefecture of Bahr el-Ghazal) is the episcopal see of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Wau, which serves the province's religious majority.

Wau is a vibrant economic center by the standards of the newly established Republic of South Sudan, and serves as a hub for trade between Darfur, Bahr al Ghazal, and Equatoria.

Wau receives 1,074.5 millimetres (42.30 in) of rain over 102.4 precipitation days, with a distinct wet and dry season like most tropical savanna climates.