Armed opposition says South Sudan army killed eight civilians in Yei state
January 7, 2018 (JUBA) – The Sudan People’s Liberation Movement in Opposition (SPLM-IO) led by the former First Vice President Riek Machar has accused the government forces of killing eight civilians in two area in the Yei River State in south-western South Sudan.
SPLA soldiers from Morobo “ambushed dozens of civilians and notoriously tortured and killed the eight. The rest were scattered into the bushes and pursued at gunpoint,” Edward claimed.
The warring parties in South Sudan signed a cessation of hostilities agreement brokered by the IGAD mediators with the support of the international community before to launch a process for the implementation of the peace agreement reached in August 2015.
Yei state which is close to the borders with the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Uganda was one of the hot areas before the signing of the humanitarian truce which aimed at building confidence between the warring parties before to discuss the security arrangements implementation.
All these violations are happening at the watch of the ceasefire monitors and the guarantors which casts doubt on the effectiveness of the implementation of the CoH in an attempt to thwart the widespread insecurity in preparation for the upcoming peace talk.
The rebel spokesperson condemned the killing of civilians pointing that such violence comes in total violation of the cessation of hostilities agreement.
“We urge CTSAMM not to condone the barbaric acts of ethnic extermination in violation of the truce by merely condemning and blaming, but to systematically investigate and hold Kiir’s defiant regime to immediately account for these deliberate violations,” he stressed.
With the resumption of the peace revitalization process, the parties have to discuss the enforcement of the permanent ceasefire agreement. The armed opposition has already called to review the ceasefire monitoring body.
(ST)