January 23rd 2019 (Nyamilepedia) – The Ceasefire and Transitional Security Arrangements Monitoring and Verification Mechanism (CTSAMVM) urged on Tuesday the South Sudan government to hold accountable perpetrators of last month’s Luri incident.
In December 2018, members of the peace monitoring body were attacked and detained near the capital Juba by members of South Sudan’s security forces who later forced a Ethiopian officer of the team to walk naked. The incident took place at Luri, a Juba suburb hosting the training camp for the tribal militia, Mathiang Anyor, which was accused of caring out civilian massacres against Nuer in December 2013.
South Sudan’s ministry of foreign affairs said few days later that the government has arrested some soldiers in connection to the attack.
However, in his opening remarks at the 3rd meeting of the CTSAMVM on Tuesday in Juba, the CTSAMVM Chairman, Maj. Gen. Desta Abiche Ageno, said the body urges the government to hold to account those responsible for the incident.
“The Luri incident is a very serious and grave violation of the peace agreement and we are continuing to urge the TGoNU to take action and hold the perpetrators accountable,” he said during his opening remarks.
“Accountability measures will be essential in limiting the possibility of this type of incident happening again. The staff working in the monitoring mission must be able to conduct their work free from the threat of violence,” he added.
Abiche further stressed the need for the freedom of movement for the members of the peace monitoring body saying the Luri incident is an example of other incidents the body still faces hindering their access to areas of activities.
“The incident in Luri on the 18th December, 2018, in which CTSAMVM monitors were assaulted and detained is just one example. We have also faced denial of access from the SSPDF and SPLA-IO when we have attempted to visit locations to conduct verification of forces as required by our mandate,” he said.
