The United Nations warns of war crimes in South Sudan and calls for an immediate ceasefire

Turk said in a statement on Tuesday: “Civilians are being brutally killed, injured and displaced daily across South Sudan as hostilities escalate between the army and opposition forces. Some of these actions may amount to war crimes.”

The United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights renewed his call on the parties to the conflict to urgently return to dialogue. And he said: “Both parties must take immediate and effective steps, with the support of the international community, to salvage the nascent peace agreement. South Sudan must be lifted from the brink of all-out civil war.”

Details of brutal attacks

During the past weeks, more than 160 civilians were killed, including at least 139 on March 1 by fighters from the Bul Nuer ethnicity in the Abimanum region of the Ruweng Administrative Province in the north of the country.

On February 21, 21 civilians were killed by government forces in Bankor village, Ayod County, Jonglei State, east of the country. Soldiers lured civilians to one place, promised them food aid, and then shot them. Among the dead were 15 women and three girls.

On the same day, soldiers reportedly tied up and beheaded four civilians – an elderly man, a woman, a boy and a girl – in Thiam village, Wau Payam town, in Western Bahr el Ghazal state, northwest of the country.

On March 6, the army issued an order to evacuate all civilians from the city of Akobo and its surrounding villages. He also directed the closure and withdrawal of the UNMISS temporary operating base in Akobo, Jonglei State, as well as other UN agencies and non-governmental organizations. The United Nations Mission in South Sudan responded that its peacekeepers would remain in Akobo, to provide protection for civilians. Latest reports indicate that thousands of civilians have fled the city.

There were also reports that South Sudan’s armed forces deliberately destroyed or polluted public water sources. Civilians who spoke to the UN Human Rights Office reported that approximately 99 wells were destroyed or poisoned with unidentified substances during government airstrikes.

Volker Türk stressed the need to conduct immediate, impartial, comprehensive and effective investigations into these alleged violations, and into all other violations of the laws of war and international human rights law. He also stressed the need to hold those responsible fully accountable, including those responsible for the leadership and higher-ranking officials.

Displacement exacerbates the suffering of civilians

More than 280,000 people have been displaced in South Sudan since late December in Jonglei, Lakes and Upper Nile states. Türk said the exodus of thousands of civilians from Akobo over the weekend, and the horrific threat of armed violence, will only exacerbate the anxiety and suffering endured by the civilian population since the resumption of hostilities in January.

He added: “A ceasefire must be reached as quickly as possible, to save lives and guide this conflict towards a negotiated solution.”

He called for intensifying the efforts of the international community with the parties to the conflict, to end the escalation of violence. He also urged parties to the conflict to stop attacking civilians and civilian objects, and to ensure the safe and sustainable flow of humanitarian aid to all those in need, in accordance with their obligations under international law.