The UN human rights chief expressed concern on Friday about the worsening situation in South Sudan, calling for “urgent action” to prevent a return to full-scale civil war.
– We need urgent measures to preserve the peace agreement and prevent fragmentation and cycles of retaliation that could herald a return to full-scale civil war – said Volker Turk in his address to the United Nations Human Rights Council.
Violence has risen in recent weeks as a power-sharing deal between rival generals Salva Kiir and Riek Machar has collapsed.
At least 280,000 people have been displaced since December in the worst-hit state, Jonglei.
Turk warned that the situation further worsened in January, as “violations and abuses of human rights increased by 45 percent” compared to the previous month.
Last month alone, he said his office documented 189 civilians killed and many more injured.
The UN human rights chief said he was “horrified” to learn of last weekend’s attack by government forces and allied militias on a village in Jonglei’s Ayod district.
– Witnesses told my colleagues that the troops ordered the residents to gather and then opened fire on the crowd, killing 21 unarmed civilians, including women and children – said Turk.
He warned that “military discipline appears to have broken down” on both sides of the conflict, with troops showing “an almost complete disregard for the protection of civilians”.
His team, he said, recorded a 40 percent increase compared to 2024 in the number of people killed and injured in the conflict last year, to more than 5,100.
Turk condemned widespread sexual violence and said his team had documented “a disturbing increase to 550 in the number of civilians abducted by opposition forces and their allies in 2025”.
He expressed particular concern about hate speech and incitement to violence directed against entire communities and ethnic groups in the country.
– In an audio recording certified by the UN mission, a senior military official called on his forces not to spare lives and to destroy civilian houses, cattle and property – he told the council.
– Acts of hate speech and incitement to violence can be considered international crimes – said Turk, warning that “those responsible for such crimes can be prosecuted under international law”.
The human rights commissioner also warned that South Sudan had become “extremely dangerous for aid workers”, with 350 attacks on staff and facilities last year – more than a third more than in 2024.
(Vijesti.ba / FENA)
