South Sudan Army Commits Atrocities in Jonglei as Aid Workers Flee By Caelin Briggs
A United Nations helicopter takes off in South Sudan. Reuters Photo. Bor, South Sudan – It has been a dark week in Jonglei State in eastern South Sudan. On Friday night, the last of the humanitarian workers in Pibor town were evacuated by UN helicopter as South Sudanese forces roamed the dusty streets, attacking civilians and looting anything they could carry. Many of these aid workers wanted to stay, knowing that once they left there would be no one to witness the ongoing atrocities or prevent the government soldiers from looting humanitarian supplies. Now, however, Pibor has become a virtual ghost town, with most of the civilian population fleeing into the bush. In the months leading up to this week, the SPLA staged large-scale attacks against a rebel group led by David Yau Yau. But the SPLA has steadily lost ground to Yau Yau’s forces, and on May 5th, Yau Yau’s troops defeated the SPLA in southern Jonglei and took control of the town of Boma. For the first time, Yau Yau’s troops have decided to hold and defend the city – a major shift from their previous “hit and run” attacks, and possibly a sign of their growing confidence. In the five days following the fall of Boma, SPLA troops in Pibor carried out a widespread campaign of looting and terror against the Murle population. Across southern Jonglei, civilians fled from one town to another, desperate to escape the violence but not knowing where to go. Humanitarians watched helplessly as whole towns emptied out and thousands of people disappeared into the bush. The start of the rainy season has made local roads impassable by car, leaving humanitarian actors and the UN peacekeeping mission (UNMISS) with little idea of where the displaced are taking shelter. Humanitarians and peacekeepers also have virtually no information about the level of civilian casualties – though they fear it may be disastrously high. During a brief period of calm in late April, civilians with gunshot wounds and landmine injuries started to trickle into Pibor town. To the horror of local aid workers, many of the victims who arrived were children – including a three-year-old boy who had been stabbed six times by a SPLA soldier. The boy’s mother, one-month-old sibling, and 14-year-old sister had all been shot and killed. With Boma now in the hands of David Yau Yau, and Pibor now empty except for the SPLA soldiers and UN peacekeepers, the humanitarian community is trying desperately to reach the displaced populations. The food, medical equipment, and other supplies that aid groups had stockpiled in both towns have been looted, but access to people in need remains the biggest obstacle. Local and international NGOs are also concerned about the number of child soldiers on both sides of the conflict, and they are appealing to the government to release them. It is difficult to imagine a worse situation, and yet reports of new tragedies are coming in every hour. Indeed, Yau Yau’s forces seem poised to launch an attack on Pibor town, and the humanitarian consequences could be severe. At this point, there are few good suggestions about what can be done in Jonglei. Some say that the U.S. government and other powerful donors should call on the government in Juba to halt SPLA abuses of civilians. Others have said that UNMISS must use its mandate and resources to more actively protect the population. The Indian UNMISS battalion in Jonglei suffered five deaths following an attack last month and now seems reluctant to engage with the army or rebel forces, leading many to call on the UN to rotate a different battalion into the area. One thing is certain: without proactive and immediate engagement by all parties, the crisis in Jonglei will worsen dramatically. May 14, 2013 | Tagged as: Africa, South Sudan, Humanitarian Response, Protection & Security, Women & Children. . -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "South Sudan Info - The Kob" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to [email protected]. To post to this group, send email to [email protected]. For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/groups/opt_out.
