May 8th 2018 (Nyamilepedia) – Troops loyal to the South Sudan government of the current incumbent Salva Kiir Mayardiit has committed shocking atrocities against civilians as they attack and wage offensives to capture areas under the control of the armed opposition movement under the leadership of the country’s former First Vice President Riek Machar Teny in two counties of Leer and Mayendit in Unity State, reports from the troubled counties have revealed to the Nyamilepedia.
A source in Leer told the Nyamilepedia that government troops with their militia allies are attacking the people in remote villages far from Leer town.
“People are being displaced from their remote villages very far from Leer town by government forces and their allies,” the source told the Nyamilepedia on the condition of anonymity.
The source said militias from Koch county led by their ring leader Gordon Koang Biel, militiamen coming from Guit county and some forces loyal to the country’s First Vice President Taban Deng Gai were responsible for attacking the civilian areas in Leer county.
“Those loyal to Gordon Koang Biel with his youths from Koch county and Taban forces plus some militiamen from Guit county are launching offensives against SPLM/A (IO) of the former First Vice President Riek Machar. Koang is the ring leader of the militia coming from Koch county,” he said.
The source pointed out that instead of pursuing those forces loyal to Riek Machar, they turn their gun on the civilians, abducts women and girls and in many cases kill elders and children.
“But finally, they end up targeting the civilians. Now they are abducting women and girls for raping. They are killing the elderly people and the children including. They killed a prominent traditional leader called Bol Phala Muang which was slaughtered at Gandor (Tharroup),” he said.
Nyamilepedia have understood that Bol Phala is a prominent tradition Chief from Dok community.
Today (yesterday), the source said, government forces are moving towards Mayendit saying that the troops are determined to committee further atrocities as they did in Leer county.
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”.
The IGAD has employed an initiative called High-Level Revitalization Forum to bring back the 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 on 17th of May. This week, the IGAD invited all the stakeholders to Ethiopian capital Addis Ababa for consultations for consultations.
