25 October 2016•Update: 25 October 2016
By Parach Mach
JUBA, South Sudan
Government forces deliberately killed civilians, raped women, looted properties and committed other appalling acts of torture during their attacks in the capital Juba in July, Amnesty International said Tuesday.
The human rights group urged the African Union to do more and ensure the establishment of an independent hybrid court to prosecute these crimes.
In a statement posted on the organization’s website, Joanne Mariner, Amnesty International’s senior crisis response adviser, said: “These attacks by government forces are further proof of the urgent need to impose an arms embargo on South Sudan, with the aim of stopping the flow of weapons, and establish an effective mechanism to monitor compliance.
“States should not be profiting off weapons that are being used to kill civilians,”
The report is released ahead of a field mission to South Sudan by the African Union’s Peace and Security Council, set to take place between Friday and Sunday.
South Sudan’s army denies the allegations, describing them as efforts by the West to implement a regime change.
“No wonder, all these reports are made to implement the regime change and destroy the army’s reputation,” army spokesman Brig. Lul Koang Ruai told Anadolu Agency.
The report also described abuses by armed opposition forces loyal to former Vice President Riek Machar.
South Sudan's conflict, which has now entered its third year, has so far killed tens of thousands of people and left an estimated 2.4 million people displaced.
