{{ A US-based rights body has accused South Sudan army (SPLA) of unlawfully killing and committing serious violations against civilians in the country’s Jonglei state.}}
The act, Human Rights Watch (HRW) said, were carried out under the context of a counterinsurgency campaign in remote parts of the region, forcing thousands of the people to flee for safety.
Jonglei has in recent months experienced series of inter-communal violence and threats from rebels operating in its Pibor county, a situation that has placed the two-year old nation in the spotlight.
But HRW, in a report released Friday, urges the South Sudanese government to ensure abusive soldiers are held accountable for crimes and curb the spate of violence in the region.
The report, entitled, “‘They are Killing Us’: Abuses Against Civilians in South Sudan’s Pibor County”, highlights 24 incidences of unlawful killings allegedly by the SPLA of about 100 members of the Murle ethnic group carried out between December 2012 and July 2013.
Such an incident, it stressed, constitutes serious violations of international humanitarian and human rights law.
“Murder and deliberate targeting of civilians during an armed conflict constitute war crimes,” the 45-page report reads in part.
The report, also extended to Sudan Tribune, further describes how southern army forces allegedly burned and looted homes, physically and verbally abused civilians, and destroyed schools, churches, and the compounds of aid agencies providing life-saving assistance.
“Soldiers should be protecting Murle civilians in Jonglei state from the fighting and the ethnic conflict,” Daniel Bekele, HRW Africa director says in the report.
Instead, the army has been killing these vulnerable people and driving terrified men, women, and children into the jaws of danger, he added.
The army has on several occasions been accused of failing to protect civilians, especially against David Yauyau rebels who operate from the remote area of Pibor county.
A disarmament exercise initiated in Jonglei by government ended with little success Both the United Nations, domestic and international right bodies’ criticised the process, which was largely marred by gross human rights violations.
sudantribune
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