UN Warns South Sudan Violence Threatens Fragile Peace After Civilian Massacre

The United Nations human rights chief warns that South Sudan has reached a critical juncture as escalating violence jeopardizes a 2018 peace agreement. At least 16-21 civilians were killed in recent attacks by military forces in Jonglei state, prompting condemnation from Western nations.

The United Nations’ top human rights official issued a stark warning Friday that South Sudan has reached a critical juncture, with escalating violence putting the nation’s fragile peace agreement at serious risk.

The warning from UN human rights chief Volker Turk came one day after Western nations condemned what they called a massacre carried out by groups connected to South Sudan’s military forces.

According to state information minister Nyamar Ngundeng, no fewer than 16 civilians lost their lives when “unruly elements from the South Sudan People’s Defence Forces soldiers” attacked in Jonglei state’s eastern region on February 21.

While South Sudan’s government disputed claims that soldiers intentionally attacked civilians, officials acknowledged that innocent people may have been killed during combat operations in the conflict-plagued area that shares a border with Ethiopia.

The violence threatens to unravel a 2018 peace agreement that brought an end to five years of devastating civil war between forces supporting President Salva Kiir and those backing First Vice President Riek Machar. That conflict claimed close to 400,000 lives in what is considered the world’s youngest nation.

Since the peace deal was signed, the country has experienced ongoing territorial disputes and other conflicts. Political instability deepened after Machar was removed from his position last year and faces charges alongside 20 others for allegedly participating in militia attacks in the northeastern region. All defendants have rejected the accusations.

Turk reported that 189 civilian deaths were recorded in January alone, representing a 45% spike in human rights violations and abuses compared to the previous month.

“We are at a dangerous point, when rising violence is combined with deepening uncertainty over South Sudan’s political trajectory, as the peace agreement comes under severe strain,” Turk addressed members of the UN Human Rights Council.

Regarding the weekend violence in Jonglei, Turk provided a higher casualty figure, stating that eyewitnesses described soldiers commanding civilians to assemble before firing upon them, resulting in 21 deaths of unarmed individuals, including children.

“Military discipline appears to have collapsed in both Government and opposition forces in Jonglei and Eastern Equatoria, where troops have demonstrated a near-total disregard for civilian protection,” he stated.

Turk also noted that government forces, opposition groups, and their allied militias have launched attacks on residential communities across multiple states including Upper Nile, Unity, Central Equatoria, Western Bahr el Ghazal, Western Equatoria, and Warrap.

In a collective statement released on social media platform X Thursday evening, the United States, European Union, Britain, and other Western countries expressed being “appalled by credible reports of a deliberate massacre of civilians” in Pankor village within Jonglei state.

South Sudan government spokesperson Ateny Wek responded to the international criticism by denying that military personnel deliberately killed civilians.

“Unless those civilians were caught in a crossfire, there’s not any SSPDF that has the intention to kill any civilian,” Wek explained.