The UN claims it has discovered mass graves in South Sudan suggesting to be related to mass extra-judicial killings and the targeting of individuals on the basis of their ethnicity. One grave found in Unity state capital Bentiu contains dozens of bodies, reportedly of slain Dinka soldiers, the UN stated.
The town is now controlled by the Nuer commander, James Koan, who defected from 4th SPLA division. “The UN official who visited the location saw 14 bodies and apparently there were another 20 bodies at the riverside. In total there were 75 bodies found of SPLA soldiers who are all unaccounted for. We had unconfirmed information that some of the bodies may have been burned”, a spokesman of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights told Radio Tamazuj.
In a statement on Thursday, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Navi Pillay expressed her grave concern: “Mass extra-judicial killings, the targeting of individuals on the basis of their ethnicity, and arbitrary detentions have been documented in recent days,” Pillay said. “We have discovered a mass grave in Bentiu, in Unity state, and there are reportedly at least two other mass graves in Juba.” In Juba the violence targeted many Nuer soldiers and civilians. The killings in Bentiu can be considered as an act of revenge.
Pillay also expressed serious concern about the safety of those who have been arrested and are being held in unknown locations in Juba, including several hundred civilians who were reportedly arrested during house-to-house searches and from various hotels in Juba. Hundreds of members of the South Sudan National Police Service were also reportedly ordered to be disarmed and arrested from police stations across Juba.
“There is a palpable fear among civilians of both Dinka and Nuer backgrounds that they will be killed on the basis of their ethnicity,” Pillay said. “There need to be clear statements and clear steps from all those in positions of political and military control that human rights violations will not be tolerated and those responsible will be brought to justice.”
Under international law, those in positions of political and military control can be held responsible for violations committed by those under their leadership, the High Commissioner said.
File photo: Vehicles of the SPLA (South Sudan People’s Liberation Army) on the road from Bentiu to Heglig