From February to May 2022, “ruthless” abuses were committed against people in South Sudan’s Unity State by joint government forces and the opposition army, reports the UN.
Killings, massacres, torture, kidnappings, rapes, whole villages burned and looted… Fighting continues in South Sudan, the Unity State, a country politically and ethnically divided in two. Despite the peace process that began in 2018 in South Sudan, the ongoing civil war since 2013 has not abated. The joint report just released by UNMISS (United Nations Mission in South Sudan) and the UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights on attacks against civilians in this East African country is quite damning. From February 11 to May 31, 2022, there were 131 cases of rape and gang rape, approximately 44,000 displaced civilians, 28 villages destroyed, 173 civilians and two humanitarians killed.
Horrific scenes
According to Minuss, the attackers burned alive children and elderly people who could not flee their homes. Children were also drowned in the swamps. The report also mentions beheadings with machetes and bayonets. The report also mentions beheadings with machetes and bayonets. In addition, at least 37 women and children were abducted, and a nine-year-old girl was gang raped and did not survive.
The findings of this report are based on 32 verification missions conducted by Minuss in three counties; Koch, Leer and Mayendit and surrounding areas. These violations occurred during clashes between joint government forces and affiliated militias and armed groups and elements of the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement/Opposition Army loyal to First Vice President Riek Machar. According to UNMISS, “The modus operandi of these assailants clearly demonstrates their intention to attack civilians” and “drive them from their homes. Their goal is to “increase the areas under government control” and “control the main ports” in the region.
