South Sudan: UN lists 173 civilians killed in four months in fighting

Published on: 06/09/2022 – 13:58 Fighting between forces loyal to President Salva Kiir and Vice-President Riek Machar has killed an estimated 173 civilians and caused 37 kidnappings in four months in South Sudan, announced Tuesday the UN, also denouncing numerous cases of sexual violence. Fighting between forces loyal to President Salva Kiir and Vice-President Riek Machar Environ has killed 173 civilians in four months in South Sudan, the UN announced on Tuesday, September 6, also denouncing numerous cases of sexual violence. Some 37 people were also abducted during the same period. The clashes took place between February and May in the counties of Koch, Leer and Mayendit, located about 400 kilometers north of the capital Juba in the state of Unity, stronghold of pro-Machar SPLA-IO forces.”Hostilities in southern Unity State affected at least 28 villages […] with approximately 173 civilians killed, 12 injured and 37 women and children abducted”, according to a report by the United Nations mission in South Sudan (Unmiss). “With complete impunity” Some abductees suffered “sexual violence, including 8-year-old girls,” according to the UN. A 9-year-old girl died after gang rape, according to the UNmiss, which says it has documented 131 cases of rape and gang rape. people to flee their villages. While factions on both sides are implicated in the violence, government forces and militias loyal to President Salva Kiir are “primarily responsible for human rights violations and abuses”, according to the UN, referring in particular to “premeditated” attacks. “Human rights violations have been committed with complete impunity,” lamented the special envoy of the UN secretary general in the country, Nicholas Haysom. According to international law, the authorities must “protect r civilians, investigate suspected human rights violations,” he said. chronic, which prevent it from recovering from the bloody civil war which left nearly 400,000 dead and millions displaced between 2013 and 2018. A peace agreement signed in 2018 provides for the principle of power sharing within of a government of national unity, formed in February 2020 with Kiir as president and Machar as vice-president. But it has remained largely unimplemented, leaving the country in the grip of chaos. The UN and the international community regularly accuse South Sudanese leaders of maintaining a status quo, stoking violence, suppressing political freedoms and misappropriating public funds. In mid-July, the United States withdrew from two peace process monitoring bodies due to the “lack of progress” in the transition process and the “lack of political will” of its leaders to bring peace to the country. With AFP