NEW YORK, USA
The United
Nations on Monday demanded an end to extrajudicial killings in South Sudan
after the grisly execution of at least 42 people, including boys, in lawless
parts of the troubled country.SSNPS (South Sudan National Police Service) police officers sit on the back of a pickup truck while they gather ahead of patrolling the streets of Juba, South Sudan on April 9, 2020.
Some were
executed in front of their families and others left bound to trees in a spate
of gruesome lynchings in a country where peaceful governance has remained
elusive in the aftermath of civil war.
Since
March, UN Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS) rights investigators have documented
the killing of 29 accused criminals in Warrap, a northwest state plagued by
deadly conflict between rival ethnic groups.
The
victims, including elderly men and young boys, were taken from prison or police
custody and killed without a fair trial.
"Eyewitnesses
reported that some men were taken to remote areas, tied to trees, and executed
by firing squad. In some instances, their bodies were reportedly left on the
trees as an example to the community," UNMISS said in a statement.
The UN
said another 13 people were summarily executed since mid-June at the
instruction of local officials in Lakes States, a conflict-prone central
region.
"People
accused of crimes have the right to a fair trial as part of a formal judicial
process," said Nicholas Haysom, UN special envoy to South Sudan, in a
statement.
"They
should not be subjected to the random judgement of government or traditional
leaders that they should be taken out and shot in front of their families and
communities."
The UN has
asked South Sudan's justice ministry to investigate and prosecute those
responsible, and raised concerns directly with local officials in the two
states.
South
Sudan, which attained independence in 2011 before plunging into civil war two
years later, has struggled with lawlessness and interethnic violence since the
fighting that left nearly 400,000 dead.
A
ceasefire was declared in 2018 but peace remains fragile, with many parts of
the vast country of 12 million ungoverned and violent, and the security forces
underfunded and divided.
The
coalition government in Juba, in power in a shaky alliance since February 2020,
struggles to police its realm, riven by infighting and economic malaise.
Haysom
said the UN was working with the government and courts to deploy more judges
where they were needed.
"There
is a strong desire among communities for accountability and access to justice.
But extrajudicial killings are not a solution to restoring law and order,"
he said.
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