August 1st 2018 (Nyamilepedia) – The Ceasefire and Transitional Security Arrangement Monitoring Mechanism, (CTSAMM) has accused South Sudan’s army, the Sudan People’s Liberation Army (SPLA), of caring out ceasefire violations and killing civilians in Southern Unity in the first half of the year 2018.
In a report released on Tuesday, the ceasefire monitoring body said South Sudan’s SPLA attacked rebel-held towns in Southern Unity State in April 2018 and killed, while displacing, hundreds of civilians in violations to the ceasefire agreement and the international humanitarian laws.
In a one incident for exmaple, the CSTAMM said the body was informed by the SPLA-IO commissioner of Thonyor that the army had attacked its position in Motot and that teh fighting was ongoing. It said the body later would found that the claim by the SPLA-IO was true and that the SPLA had launched attack against civilians in the town twice.
“CSTAMM received an allegation from an SPLA-IO (RM) County Commisioner that the town of Motot had been attacked by the SPLA on 19 April 2018. When CSTAMM deployed an MVT to investigate, it was found that there had been two attacks by the SPLA against MOTOT, one on 19 April and the other on 21 April 2018,” said the report by the CSTAMM released on Tuesday.
The report pointed out that the attack by the army resulted in te burning of civilian houses as well as schools and medical centres killing several civilians while displacing almost the entire population in the town.
“The first Attack on the 19 April resulted in some looting and burning of houses and shops in the town. On 21 April 2018, the SPLA mounted a deliberate attack against the two using vehicle mounted machine guns. A number of tracked armored vehicles were involved in the attack. Several civilians were reportedly killed and wounded and almost the entire population of the twon fled. Houses were burnt, and civil buildings – including the school and medical cetre – were looted. The one borehole in the town was vandalized,” the report said.
It said the SPLA, by launching such attack against the SPLA-IO and civilians, has violated the ceaefire agreement and the interknational humanitarian laws.
“By Prosecuting attacks against civilian community, the SPLA acted in and blatant violation of the ACOH and the international humanitarian law,” the report further said.
The report also added that the SPLA had attacked SPLA-IO positions in other parts of Leer including an attacke onm Rubkuay which ahs previously been under the control of the SPLA-IO since before the signing of the ceasefire agreement.
You can download the reports by the CSTAMM on Motot and Rubkuay here.Â
