"Government soldiers deliberately killed Nuer civilians, and fired indiscriminately in civilian neighbourhoods and around UN protection of civilians sites. Both during and after the fighting, government forces engaged in a massive campaign of looting. And over a roughly one-week period that began just after the fighting ended, government soldiers raped dozens of Nuer women, gang-raping many of them," Amnesty International said in a report, entitled "We did not believe we would survive: Killings, rape and looting in Juba."
The report, based on field research conducted by Amnesty in July, August and September, describes the serious violations of international human rights and humanitarian law that took place in Juba, and stresses the United Nation's inadequate response to the atrocities.
The human rights watchdog calls for imposing an arms embargo and targeted sanctions on South Sudan, monitoring the humanitarian situation in the country, and using all diplomatic and political tools to stop the violence.
The report was released ahead of a field mission to South Sudan by the African Union’s Peace and Security Council (AUPSC), which would take place on October 28-30.
The civil war broke out in South Sudan in 2013 after state’s President Salva Kiir Mayardiit dismissed the cabinet and accused Vice-President Riek Machar of planning a failed coup. After a short period of a fragile ceasefire and attempts to normalize the situation via signing a truce in 2015, a new combat started in July 2016.
