July 14, 2011 (JUBA) - The army of newly independent South Sudan has denied claims by Amnesty International, a UK-based human rights body, that the former rebels, turned national military, the Sudan People’s Liberation Army (SPLA), are responsible for “unlawful killings and the destruction of homes and other civilian properties”.

Sudan People’s Liberation Army (SPLA) soldiers march during a rehearsal of the Independence Day ceremony in Juba July 5, 2011 (Reuters Pictures)

In its report released on the eve of South Sudan’s independence, Amnesty said intense fighting between the SPLA and armed opposition groups have killed hundreds of civilians and displaced more than 10,000 people in Upper Nile, Unity and Jonglei States of the new nation.

“SPLA forces have been responsible for serious violations, including unlawful killings and the destruction of homes and other civilian properties,” the organisation said, while calling for accountability for abuses allegedly committed by soldiers, police, and other security forces in the region.

Reacting to the report, Phillip Aguer, the SPLA spokesperson completely dismissed Amnesty’s claims, describing it as a “malicious and fabricated” report allegedly aimed at tarnishing the Southern army’s image.

“Why should the SPLA get involved in killing and destroying properties of innocent civilians it has been mandated to protect? This Amnesty International is [a] bias[ed] institution whose reports need to be largely ignored,” Aguer told Sudan Tribune on phone.

He however challenged the organisation’s researchers to visit the states mentioned in their report to carry out first hand assessment of the situations on the ground.

In the week before South Sudan seceded from the North as part of a 2005 peace deal, the governor of Unity State Taban Deng Gai sacked the commisioner of Mayom County after he accused the SPLA of killing over 200 civilians and burning down over 7,000 homes in May this year.

The Mayom commisioner Charles Machieng Kuol alleged that on 21 May the SPLA destroyed civilian property as it chased a rebel militia group out of the area. He went on to condemn the SPLA and accuse them of terrorising citizens from his county.

South Sudan’s army - the SPLA - is in the process of transforming itself from the rebel army that fought over two decades of civil war into a national army after independence.

The SPLA claim they killed over 80 members of a militia loyal to Peter Gadet, who defected from the Southern military earlier this year. Gadet has attempted to base his rebellion in Mayom County. He announced his defection in statement on April 11, which he called the "Mayom Declaration" vowing to overthrow the South Sudan government due its alleged tribalism and corruption.

After Gadets militia - the South Sudan Liberation Army (SSLA) - attacked the the town of Mankien in Mayom County on May 20 the SPLA responded by forcing the group out of the area.

Following the attack SPLA Maj. Gen. Koang Chuol operation officer for Division 4 of Unity State warned civilians south of Mankien to move away from the area to avoid being caught up in what he described as a war zone but also said that those fleeing the area with would be treated as rebels.

“Anyone found in those areas with militias will be push[ed] away with rebels and would be termed as siding with them”. He urged civilians to move east of Mayom to find safety and security.

Chuol said that civilians who remain to look after their property would not be considered as supporting the SSLA.

The SSLA claim they are trying to protect civilians from raids from neighbouring Warrap State, while the SPLA maintain that Gadet is supported by Khartoum in order to destabilise the South - Sudan’s government and Gadet both deny this.

Arms trade

Amnesty’s report went on to criticise countries that have armed or provided training to both North and South Sudan.

Amnesty International placed blame on the Ukraine, for transferring a major shipment of arms to the SPLA through Kenya and Uganda in 2007 and 2008. The weaponry and munitions, it adds, included tanks, anti-aircraft guns, multiple rocket launchers and automatic rifles.

Also mentioned in the July 8 report is the US government, which reportedly provides $100 million a year worth of military assistance to the SPLA in South Sudan and that very little detail has been made public on this kind of assistance.

Recently, a leaked US diplomatic cable released by Wikileaks, made reference to “our training program for the SPLA, including combat arms soldier training.” This evidence, the organisations says, exposes the US military’s disregard for human rights principles.

“The role of the big powers in supplying arms and military training that is stoking conflict in Sudan underscores the urgency for an Arms Trade Treaty with teeth. The treaty must include effective measures to ensure states comply with and enforce all of its provisions,” said Amnesty International’s Brian Wood.

He added: “The permanent members of the UN Security Council must now throw their political might behind efforts to make the treaty effective to save lives and prevent human rights abuses, or risk undermining its purpose and jeopardising the whole process.”

China and Russia have also been accused of having allegedly provided weapons or military training to both the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the SPLA, specifically citing the Russian-made aircraft, reportedly involved in indiscriminate air strikes that led to civilian deaths and injuries Southern Kordofan last month.

“Civilians are being killed and injured in Southern Kordofan with weapons manufactured by governments overseas who fail to rigorously assess the potential humanitarian and human rights risks before doing business with armed forces,” said Erwin Van Der Borght, Director of the Africa Programme at Amnesty International.

Borght urged the big powers like China, Russia and the US to support the rule banning weapons and ammunitions from being sold to forces that pose threats to human rights during the global Arms Trade Treaty, due next week.

(ST)