South Sudan war criminals will be held accountable
A picture taken on July 22, 2016 shows makeshift graves at the United Nations Mission in the Republic of South Sudan (UNMISS), the UN House for internally displaced persons in the Jebel area in Juba on July 22, 2016. About 10,000 people have been displaced since the fighting began in Juba on the 8th of July 2016. According to a camp manager 137 people suffered from gunshot wounds and were being treated in the camp clinics, but some had succumbed to their injuries so they had been buried. Juba was rocked by days of heavy fighting in early July between government forces and fighters loyal to current Vice President Riek Machar which erupted as he was meeting President Salva Kiir in the presidential palace. More than 300 people were killed and tens of thousands of people fled, escalating fears of a return to the brutal civil war that erupted just over two years after independence in 2011. The latest violence in the capital echoed the fighting that first triggered the civil war in December 2013, when Kiir accused Machar of plotting a coup.<br />CHARLES ATIKI LOMODONG / AFP
Washington has warned that those who perpetrate atrocities in South Sudan’s civil war will be held responsible for their crimes.
The United States served as a midwife in the creation of the South Sudan, formed in July 2011 by partitioning Sudan.
But South Sudan descended into war in December 2013, and a peace deal signed last year collapsed during heavy fighting in the capital this month.
“Recent weeks have featured well-documented reports of civilian killings and a surge in the number of government soldiers in uniform raping and gang raping women and girls who have taken refuge in UN Protection of Civilian sites,” the US State Department said late on Saturday.
The United Nations “has documented at least 120 cases of sexual violence in the last two weeks” in fighting between government forces and those loyal to rebel chief Riek Machar.
“Those responsible for war crimes, crimes against humanity, and other violations of international humanitarian law — including those who order or incite violence, or encourage or contribute to the commission of crimes — will be held accountable,” the US statement read.
The statement reminded “all parties” that the peace agreement provides for a special court that “will have jurisdiction over violations of international law committed during the transitional period, including those committed during the ongoing violence.”
Washington also called for “an immediate halt to combat operations and full compliance with the ceasefire declared on July 11 and in the peace agreement.”
– ‘Edge of an abyss’ –
Juba was rocked by several days of heavy fighting in early July between government forces and those loyal to Machar, in the latest upsurge in the two-and-half-year war.
Nearly 300 people died in the violence and two Chinese peacekeepers were killed in an attack on a UN base, where thousands of civilians rushed for safety.
South Sudan is “poised on the brink of an abyss” UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon told the Security Council on Thursday.
Ban has called for an arms embargo and sanctions to be imposed on those who fail to observe the peace agreement in South Sudan, but the council has yet to endorse his call.
In 2015, the UN and the US imposed sanctions on the main players in the conflict, with the State Department reiterating its warning that “those taking actions threatening the peace, security, or stability of South Sudan… may be subject to sanctions under UN Security Council Resolution 2206 (2015).”
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1 Comments
NIGERIA WE HAIL THEE!!!
“A LESSON FOR NIGERIA” mainly these Niger Delta agitators. The so-called Niger Delta Scavengers and all the putrid selfish greedy stupid backers and politicians who sponsor them. I doubt it if all these gullible brain-washed and mentally cheated by Mother Nature riding about in speed boats blowing up pipelines can afford one single decent meal per day. They are being funding by these old Deltan VULTURES who feed on carcasses of their brothers and sister who will bear the dire consequences, should there be any civil war. A group of criminals cannot be stronger, more equiped than a nation´s military setup.
“South Sudan is “poised on the brink of an abyss” UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon told the Security Council on Thursday”.
“Ban has called for an arms embargo and sanctions to be imposed on those who fail to observe the peace agreement in South Sudan, but the council has yet to endorse his call”.
“In 2015, the UN and the US imposed sanctions on the main players in the conflict, with the State Department reiterating its warning that “those taking actions threatening the peace, security, or stability of South Sudan… may be subject to sanctions under UN Security Council Resolution 2206 (2015).”
The South Sudanese are sitting on trillions cubic of crude oil too, what have they achieved after obtaining break away? Nothing but inter-tribal wars and confusion. This is exactly what is going to happen to SS and SE. These regions are not only Ijaws and Igbos, rather many other tribes and sub-tribes who will start claiming their own rights after breaking away therefore they will never know peace. Dialogue remains the wisest, the safest and the cheapest way of solving grievances no matter how long it takes. You see, God feeds on Satan and when Satan vanishes, God will die of hunger.
We will review and take appropriate action.