UN urges justice for civilian victims in South Sudan

By Bayram Altug

GENEVA (AA) - The UN on Tuesday called for justice for civilians exposed to "deliberate" and "ruthless" violence during attacks in South Sudan.

A report by the UN Human Rights Council said: "In April 16 and May 24, at least 232 civilians were killed and many more injured during attacks launched by government, aligned forces and armed youth on villages in opposition-controlled areas in the Mayendit and Leer counties of the northern Unity state" in the Horn of Africa nation.

Decrying the use of sexual violence as a weapon of war, it said: “At least 120 women and girls were raped or gang-raped, including children as young as four.”

The report added: “Some of those who resisted were shot dead. At least 132 other women and girls were abducted.”

In a statement on the report, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Zeid Ra’ad Al Hussein said: "The government must hold the perpetrators accountable."

He continued: “The perpetrators of these revolting acts against defenseless civilians, including those bearing command responsibility, must not be allowed to get away with it.”

Tens of thousands of people have been killed and 4 million displaced in the almost five years of civil war triggered as a result of a political fallout between South Sudan’s President Salva Kiir and former Vice President Riek Machar, whom the former accused of plotting a coup.

In 2015, the two sides signed a peace agreement brokered by the Intergovernmental Authority on Development East African trade bloc, but the deal collapsed -- and the conflict resumed -- a few months later.