Fighting between armed groups aligned with government and opposition forces in South Sudan this year subjected civilians to “unimaginable violence” that could amount to war crimes, Amnesty International said Thursday.
The rights watchdog documented fighters on all sides indiscriminately murdering and mutilating civilians and razing entire villages during an upsurge in fighting between June and October in the Western Equatoria region, AFP reported.
The clashes around Tambura county split along ethnic lines after politicians stirred local grievances and encouraged young people to take up arms, Amnesty said in a new report.
But the “death, destruction and division” that followed involved not just local combatants but fighters aligned to rival political factions in Juba, suggesting wider forces at play.
“The testimonies we have gathered speak of unimaginable violence, including civilians killed as they fled and bodies set on fire and mutilated,“ said Amnesty’s regional director, Deprose Muchena.
“That the attacks not only involved local groups, but also fighters affiliated to government and opposition forces, indicates this is much more than inter-communal violence.”
South Sudan attained independence in 2011 but plunged into a brutal civil war two years later that killed nearly 400,000 people and forced millions to flee.
A ceasefire was signed and a new coalition government formed in early 2020 between the political rivals, who promised to bring their forces under one banner and rebuild their shattered country.
But the process has stalled and distrust is deepening between President Salva Kiir and his deputy, former rebel leader Riek Machar.
