Violence, Abuse in South Sudan Continue to Escalate Despite Peace Process

 

FILE - Cattle keepers walk with their cows during a seasonal migration of their cattle for grazing near Tonj, South Sudan on Feb. 16, 2020. Violence among cattle keepers spiked as they migrated their cattle , crossing paths with opposing clans.

GENEVA - South Sudanese civilians are caught in a perfect storm of ongoing suffering and misery.  The U.N. Commission on Human Rights in South Sudan reports the country's humanitarian crisis is being exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic and floods, as well as the highest levels of food insecurity and malnutrition in a decade. This, on top of escalating violence and rampant human rights violations.    

Commission Chair Yasmin Sooka says in one of the regions most at risk, Jonglei and the Greater Pibor Administrative Area, nearly two million people are kept in thrall by tens of thousands of well-armed fighters.

She said boys are abducted and forced to fight, and militia groups have razed entire villages, and murdered or displaced thousands of civilians.

"All of the warring groups target women and girls, using them as chattels, and treating them as the "spoils of war," she said. "Last year, hundreds of women and girls were abducted, they were raped and gang-raped, and sexually enslaved or forcibly married off."     

Sooka said crimes of a similar magnitude and horror are occurring throughout the country.  The conflict in Central Equatoria is driven by competition for territory and access to lucrative gold mines, she said, while competition over land and cattle is fueling the violence at the local community level.