May 17th 2018 (Nyamilepedia) – The Bentiu Community Association in the Arab Republic of Egypt on Thursday condemned ongoing atrocities committed by troops loyal to the South Sudanese government since the onset of the month of March 2018.
In a statement extended to the Nyamilepedia, the South Sudanese Sub-community in the north African country said they denounce the killings they say were orchestrated by the country’s president Salva Kiir Mayardiit with his allied militias.
“We, the Bentiu Community in the Arab Republic of Egypt condemns in the strongest term the killings of Bentiu civilians who are innocent people in the entire Unity State and specially in Leer and Mayendiit counties which has been carried out by Juba regime of Salva Kiir and its militias,” the statement read in part.
The statement, bearing the signatures of the community Chairman, Yam Ruot Gatdet and its Secretary General, Jal Mayiel Lok, held the government of president Salva Kiir and its allies responsible for the indiscriminate killing of elderly people, children and women.
“The Salva Kiir regime and its killers are killing the people from [the areas] mentioned above from old aged people, children and women while raiding all the properties of the civilians and burning their huts into ashes ,” the statement said.
The community has urged the humanitarian organizations to go in to the land to rescue with aid the suffering people in the state’s two counties of Leer and Mayendit.
“We are calling on the humanitarian workers to rescue our children, women and elders who are under serious murdering of Salva Kiir government,” the statement said.
The statement added that the community in the Arab Republic of Egypt in solidarity with fellow citizens back home pays its deeps sorrow and condolences with the fellow Bentiu citizens.
“We the Bentiu Community Association in the Arab Republic of Egypt pay our deepest sorrow and our condolences with solidarity to the people in Leer and Mayendit Counties and to the entire Bentiu community in general we are feeling the pain together and for all we share our suffering together we actually condemn those killings destruction which is taking place till now under the responsibility of Kiir’s regime against humanity in Rubkona, Koch, Panyijiar, Mayom and Guit counties beside the previous two counties,” the statement said.
South Sudan descended into civil war in December 2013 after forces loyal to the country’s president, Salva Kiir Mayardiit and his then Governor of Northern Bahr Al-Ghazal State Gen. Paul Malong Awan went door-to-door in the capital Juba killing civilians belonging to the Nuer ethnic group sparking a nation-wide protests from top army generals from the Nuer leading to a civil war.
A peace agreement signed in August 2015 by President Kiir and rebel leader Riek Machar and negotiated under the auspices of the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD) and the African Union (AU) in presence of Troika and other international observers collapsed in July 2016 following fighting at the presidential palace in Juba “J1” reportedly after President Kiir ordered a failed attempt to arrest the SPLM-IO leader Riek Machar.
Late last year, the IGAD decided to revive the peace agreement and had initiated a peace revival mechanism known as the High-Level Revitalization Forum (HLRF) to bring back to life the 2015 peace agreement. Previous rounds of the HLRF has been unsuccessful and the IGAD said it expect the warring parties to negotiate on the last round of talks on 17th of May which commence today.
South Sudan government on Tuesday unveiled a long list of delegates to peace talks in the Neighboring Ethiopia while the opposition said they already have their team there. The IGAD has given the negotiating parties until May 21st as the ultimatum to sign peace.
It is not clear what would be the consequences in case the warring parties do not meet the dateline.
