International ceasefire monitors in South Sudan say they have determined “beyond any reasonable doubt” that government forces killed at least seven local people in Lui in Western Equatoria on or about Christmas Eve last year.
The victims of these killings were detained after an outbreak of hostilities in the Lui/Lanyi area on or about 21 December and later killed.
“All the evidence suggests that at least 7 young men were killed by Government Forces in Lui on or about 24 December 2015,” says a new report by the Ceasefire and Transitional Security Arrangements Monitoring Mechanism (CTSAMM).
The monitors say they received other reports of killings and confirmed also that between 12 and 20 young men are still being held by government forces in Mundri.
In a formal report, the ceasefire monitors concluded that these incidents constituted violations of Article 1.7.5 of the cessation of hostilities agreement, which forbids “Acts of hostility, intimidation, violence or attacks against the civilian population.”
The CTSAMM report, dated 19 February, was released by its parent organization JMEC, headed by former Botswana President Festus Mogae.
Ceasefire monitors had investigated allegations of government abuses against civilians during a patrol to the Mundri area from 27 January to 1 February.
“The civilian population in the Mundri area is in a state of fear,” reads their report. “Many have fled to the bush, and the MVT [monitoring team] witnessed the villages of Lanyi and Lui that are almost completely empty of civilians. According to local officials, about 66,000 people have been displaced.”
The report cites also the occupation of a girls’ secondary school by government troops and the looting of a medical clinic in Mundri.
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