GENEVA: The United Nations rights chief warned Friday that South Sudan is on the brink of renewed war, as nearly 2,000 civilians have been killed in a surge of violence this year.
The UN documented 1,854 killings, 1,693 injuries, 423 abductions and 169 cases of sexual violence from January to September — a 59-percent jump from last year, adding that limited access means the real toll is likely higher.
“This is unconscionable and must stop,” said UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Turk in a statement.
He said fears were “intensifying” that a 2018 peace deal, which ended a brutal five-year civil war in South Sudan, was about to collapse and send the country back to “all-out fighting.”
“I deeply worry for the plight of civilians in South Sudan,” Turk said, calling on the country’s leaders and international community “to do everything in their power to pull South Sudan from the brink.”
Fighting has escalated sharply since March, with the army carrying out “indiscriminate” airstrikes in populated areas of Upper Nile, Jonglei, Unity, Central Equatoria and Warrap states, the statement said.
Homes, schools and clinics have been destroyed, displacing thousands, it added.
Communal bloodshed has also spiked, with inter-clan and ethnic clashes in Warrap and Jonglei states driving a 33-percent rise in civilian deaths. The UN reported at least 45 extrajudicial killings by security forces this year.
Turk also pressed Juba to ensure due process in the trial of suspended First Vice President Riek Machar, who faces charges including treason and crimes against humanity over a March attack on a military base.
UN rights chief warns South Sudan on brink of new war
https://arab.news/ynzv3
UN rights chief warns South Sudan on brink of new war
- “This is unconscionable and must stop,” said Turk in a statement
- “I deeply worry for the plight of civilians in South Sudan“
Pro-Palestinian activists stopped from disrupting Milan Cortina Olympics torch relay
- A third group of about 10 people that was monitored by police waved Palestinian flags when the relay passed by the city’s biggest university, La Sapienza
ROME: Two groups of pro-Palestinian activists were prevented by authorities from coming into contact with the opening stages of the Milan Cortina Winter Olympics torch relay, Italian police said on Saturday.
Both groups — one of them with about 15 people — were removed before they reached the relay route in Rome, police said.
A third group of about 10 people that was monitored by police waved Palestinian flags when the relay passed by the city’s biggest university, La Sapienza.
There were also three people carrying signs in support of Venezuela near the American embassy.
In October, more than two million demonstrators marched through more than 100 Italian cities to protest the war in Gaza.
Olympic champion swimmer Gregorio Paltrinieri began the relay in the statue-lined Stadio dei Marmi and the torch was carried for 33 kilometers (20 miles) before ending the day in Piazza del Popolo.
The relay will cover 12,000 kilometers (nearly 7,500 miles) and wind its way through all 110 Italian provinces before reaching Milan’s San Siro Stadium for the opening ceremony on Feb. 6.
In all, there will be 10,001 torch bearers.
The next stops on the torch relay are Viterbo on Sunday and Terni on Monday.
