South Sudan elites in Juba behind sub-national ethnic violence – UN report
South Sudan army soldiers in unidentified area in Central Equatoria state (Photo by REUTERS)
JUBA – South Sudan’s political elites in Juba are behind the deadly inter-communal violence that is killing hundreds of people in several parts of the country, according to a new report released by the United Nations today.
The report said the country, which has been in a bloody conflict since 2013, has not made any step towards healing since the signing of the revitalized peace agreement which brought about a unity government in which opposition leader Dr. Riek Machar Teny has once again been appointed as First Vice-President.
“Political violence is spiraling out of control at the inter-communal level but driven by national actors who arm ethnic militias and paramilitary groups with military-grade weapons using the ostensible cover of cattle-raiding, which in turn leads to reprisals and revenge killings – all under the cover and control of parties to the conflict in South Sudan,” the report says.
The report shed light on the revitalized unity government’s “manifest lack of political will to end impunity for serious crimes.”
South Sudan government and opposition groups signed a peace deal in September 2018 ending six-years of war.
The agreement provided for government mechanisms to end all forms of violence whether political or ethnic.
However, since beginning of the year, ethnic violence in several parts of the country escalated and a government disarmament plan sparked violence in the country’s Warrap state killing over 200 people including dozens members of the organized forces.
The United Nations and several world powers have called for government action to de-escalate the sub-national violence.