Arms embargo needed to stem South Sudan war: HRW

Fighting broke out in December, sparked by a power struggle between Kiir and his sacked deputy Riek Machar, with battles between government troops, mutinous soldiers and ragtag militia forces divided by tribe.

- Arms deliveries from China -

In July, South Sudan said it had taken delivery of some $14 million (10.5 million euro) worth of arms including anti-tank missiles, grenade launchers and assault rifles, bought from China before fighting began.

China has also sent troops for the UN peacekeeping mission in the country.

But while diplomats report growing frustration at the collapse of ceasefire deals, they suggest sanctions on the two leaders would be made only if talks with Security Council envoys in Juba stall.

This week at least six aid workers were killed in South Sudan's Upper Nile state, with the UN evacuating over 200 workers who supported some 125,000 refugees from neighbouring Sudan.

Civilians have been massacred, patients murdered in hospitals and people killed sheltering in churches.

"South Sudan's death toll in this new war is unknown but thousands of civilians have been killed, homes and markets burned, and bodies left to be eaten by birds and dogs," the HRW report read, based on over 400 interviews.

"Widespread killings of civilians, often based on their ethnicity, and mass destruction and looting of civilian property, have defined the conflict."

While peace talks officially resumed this week in Ethiopia, the two sides have barely met, and previous ceasefire deals have all swiftly collapsed.

"The crimes against civilians in South Sudan over the past months, including ethnic killings, will resonate for decades," HRW Africa chief Daniel Bekele said.

• Politics & Government
• Unrest, Conflicts & War
• South Sudan
• arms embargo
• Human Rights Watch

Source http://news.yahoo.com/arms-embargo-needed-stem-south-sudan-war-hrw-003926385.html