Witness testimonies and other evidence of human rights violations have been gathered by the United Nations Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS) and compiled into an Interim Report on Human Rights.

The report dated 21 February covers the period of 15 December 2013 until 31 January 2014. It was prepared by the peacekeeping mission’s Human Rights Division (HRD).

Excerpts from the section of the report on Central Equatoria State were published here yesterday. The excerpts below are quoted verbatim from the secton on Jonglei State, which lies to the north of the national capital.

Begin text:

The crisis began in Bor town in the early hours of 16 December, when Auxiliary Police (AP) of Nuer origin defected and allegedly forcefully disarmed their Dinka colleagues in the AP barracks. Two APs of Dinka origin were injured in that context. Between 16 and 18 December, a mutiny and heavy fighting broke out at the SPLA Headquarters barracks in Panpandier and Maluachat, which are south of Bor, as soldiers of Dinka origin were disarmed and reportedly killed point blank.

The SPLA split into two groups: those soldiers loyal to the Government and those supporting opposition forces led by General Peter Gadet, who defected and took command of faction soldiers. These latter forces also seized a large arsenal of weapons, including tanks and heavy artillery.

In the afternoon of 18 December, opposition forces entered Bor town, shooting randomly and looting shops. The caretaker Governor returned from Juba to Bor the same day, but by evening he and other Government officials had sought refuge at the UNMISS compound in Bor. Opposition forces controlled Bor from 18-24 December. It then changed hands three times: Government forces from 24-31 December, opposition forces from 31 December-18 January, and Government forces after 18 January. There were no heavy battles when Government forces retook Bor, as opposition forces retreated prior to their arrival.

Information gathered to date suggests that serious human rights violations were committed by various actors belonging to both Government and opposition forces… During the second period of opposition control (31 December – 18 January), testimonies suggest that there were fewer incidents in Bor because civilians had been warned to flee. Rather, the violence occurred in the payams that surround Bor and it was allegedly more indiscriminate and destructive, likely due to the presence of undisciplined armed youths, reportedly from Nuer counties in northern Jonglei.

Many civilians were killed in their homes or while trying to flee. Targeted killings were committed either on the basis of ethnicity or given an individual’s suspected involvement in or support for the opposition. Information received suggests that such incidents were more common in December, i.e. in the first days of the conflict when opposition forces and then Government forces controlled Bor town. Reportedly, a few dozen civilians were able to survive in the town.

During the fighting, Bor town was completely looted and its market was almost entirely destroyed, while many residential and public structures remained intact. The entire civilian population of Bor fled. Hundreds of South Sudanese of all ethnicities and foreigners first arrived at the PoC site within the UNMISS compound in Bor on 16 December. This number peaked at 17,000 on 25 December, and then dropped to 6,000 by 31 January, at which point mostly only people of Nuer origin remained. Many civilians also fled to their home villages and counties: civilians of Nuer origin went to northern counties in Jonglei while civilians of Dinka origin went to the payams and counties surrounding Bor. Nearly 100,000 civilians, mostly of Dinka origin, fled across the Nile River to Mingkamen Payam in Awerial County, Lakes state.

The HRD is currently investigating four major cases, in addition to information-gathering activities on other alleged incidents. The first case is the 19 December attack on the UNMISS Akobo County Support Base, which was overrun, ransacked and looted by around 2000 armed Nuer youth and defected security forces personnel… Many civilians of Dinka origin, most likely 27, who had sought protection at the base were killed, as well as two UNMISS peacekeepers. Preliminary information indicates that the attack was well planned and that former SPLA commanders controlled all participating armed elements (armed youth, defected SPLA, SSNPS, and civilians).

The second (major case being investigated) is a reported mass killing that occurred at the residential area of St. Andrew’s Church compound and chapel in Bor on an unknown date. While many civilians sought refuge in the compound of St. Andrew’s, eight to twelve women of Dinka origin, some belonging to the clergy, were reportedly killed in the chapel, allegedly by opposition forces…

The third case is an attack on civilians at Bor Hospital that occurred on an unknown date. Eight to 17 patients and/or visitors were reportedly raped and/or killed, allegedly by opposition forces…

The final case relates to reports that IDPs from the PoC site at the UNMISS compound in Bor were killed just outside the compound. Information received suggests that most of these attacks were carried out by SPLA, reportedly of Dinka origin, and armed civilians during the first Government recapture of Bor sometimes between 24-31 December.