The opposition National Salvation Front (NAS) on Wednesday accused South Sudan’s army (SSPDF) of committing human rights violations in Otogo and Lasu payams of Yei River County.
"The SSPDF soldiers in Otogo and Lasu Payam respectively have intensified their usual practices of looting, raping of women and young girls, beatings and extortion of money at military checkpoints, from civilians travelling to markets," the holdout opposition group said in a statement.
It added, “These recent activities appear to be politically motivated; since in some instances, the soldiers query the civilians as to whether they support the thirty-two (32) states or ten (10) states. Unfortunately, those who answered ten (10) are physically harassed, intimidated and tortured.”
The opposition group described the alleged activities by the military as a violation of the commitment to the Cessation of Hostilities Agreement (CoHA) signed in December 2017 and the Rome Declaration.
The leadership of NAS urged the community of Sant’Egidio and members of the international community to address these alleged violations.
“NAS is committed to the CoHA signed in December 2017 in Addis Ababa and to the Rome Declaration signed in January 2020 in Rome on recommitment to the CoHA. However, NAS reserves its right to self-defense and protection of unarmed civilians,” stressed the statement signed by the group’s official spokesperson, Suba Samuel Manase.
For his part, Major General Lul Ruai Koang, the official spokesperson for the military denied accusations by the holdout opposition group that government troops raped women and looted civilians in Otogo and Lasu areas.
“The security situation in Yei River County is stable because we are in dialogue with NAS. Both sides have observed the cessation of hostilities agreement, so we are urging NAS members not to release unfounded allegations,” said Lul.
The holdout opposition group signed a truce agreement with the government in Rome on 12 January. Both sides started the negotiation process in November 2019.