NAIROBI — At least 166 civilians have died
in clashes in South Sudan’s far north over the past four months, the
United Nations said Wednesday, urging the government to act swiftly to end the
violence.
اضافة اعلان
Thousands of people in Upper Nile state have sought
shelter in swamps to escape the bloodshed, amid reports of civilians being
raped, kidnapped, or murdered.
“At least 166 civilians have been killed and 237
injured in the last four months as clashes have intensified between armed
elements, and between rival community-based militias in the region,” the Office
of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights said in a statement.
“These killings, along with reports of gender-based
violence, abductions, destruction of property and looting, are severe human
rights violations and abuses and must stop,” rights chief Volker Turk said.
The violence has displaced over 20,000 people since
August, the statement said, citing reports of “random shooting of civilians”.
Around 3,000 people have fled into neighboring
Sudan, with those left behind seeking refuge in bushes along the banks of the
White Nile, the UN refugee agency
UNHCR said last week.
As the fighting spreads to the bordering states of
Jonglei and Unity, fears are growing for some 10,000 civilians trapped in the
town of Kodok in Upper Nile state, with the International Crisis Group think
tank warning that they were “at risk of attack” by armed militias.
The UN Mission in South Sudan has publicly appealed
for government forces based in Kodok to intervene and de-escalate the violence.
President Salva Kiir last week called on all sides
to embrace peace. His office said he was “determined to do whatever it takes”
to end the violence.
Turk urged the government to conduct a “prompt,
thorough and impartial investigation” and hold those responsible to account in
line with international law.
Since achieving independence from Sudan in 2011, the
world’s newest nation has lurched from one crisis to another, including a
brutal five-year civil war that left nearly 400,000 people dead.
A peace deal was signed in 2018 but sporadic bursts
of violence between government and opposition forces continue to occur, while
conflict between rival ethnic groups in lawless parts of the country exacts a
terrible toll on civilians.
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