JUBA, Sept. 26 (Xinhua) -- The UN Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS) on Tuesday decried continued violence against civilians that resulted in killings, injuries, and abductions.
The UNMISS said between April and June, it documented 222 incidents of violence against civilians including 128 children whereby 395 civilians were killed, 281 injured, 166 abducted, and 29 were subjected to conflict-related sexual violence (CRSV). "Compared to the previous quarter between Jan.-March 2023, this marks a 14 percent increase in violent incidents from 194 to 222 and a 5 percent decrease in civilians harmed from 920 to 871," the UN mission said.
According to the UNMISS, while the number of civilians killed decreased 2 percent from 405 to 395, the number of people injured increased 20 percent from 235 to 281. The report said the number of abductions decreased from 266 to 166, while the number of victims subjected to CRSV increased from 14 to 29.
The UNMISS said 87 percent of incidents were perpetrated by community-based militias or civil defense groups commonly referred to as intercommunal violence accounted for the majority of the victims. It added that Warrap State was the most affected by the chronic violence and accounted for 34 percent of all civilian victims, followed by Jonglei, Upper Nile, Eastern Equatoria, and Central Equatoria states.
Nicholas Haysom, the special representative of the UN Secretary-General and head of the UNMISS, said ordinary civilians in South Sudan pay dearly for these acts of violence and it is critical to strengthen justice and accountability systems for such crimes.
Haysom said over the reporting period, the mission documented at least 20 individuals affected by undue restrictions of fundamental freedoms, including through continuous censorship, harassment, arbitrary arrests, detention, and ill-treatment of individuals expressing critical or divergent views by security forces, which negatively impacted civic and political space.
He said the UNMISS will continue to provide technical assistance and advocacy for a conducive environment for the exercise of civic and political freedoms as a prerequisite for free, fair, and credible elections in 2024.
Haysom said as the country prepares for elections, it is imperative for the transitional government, with the support of other stakeholders, to take credible steps towards strengthening systems for justice and accountability, protecting affected communities, as well as expanding civic and political space. ■
