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“
New deadly clashes break out on Afghanistan-Pakistan border despite truce
- At least 5 people were killed, 5 injured on the Afghan side, Taliban authorities say
- Latest clash comes amid reports of back-channel negotiations between the two countries
KABUL: Overnight border clashes have broken out between Afghan and Pakistani forces, authorities in Afghanistan said on Saturday, as tensions between the neighbors escalated following a fragile ceasefire.
The latest exchange of fire that spanned Spin Boldak and Chaman, a key crossing between southeastern Afghanistan’s Kandahar province and Pakistan’s Balochistan, marked violations of a ceasefire that has been in place since October.
The truce brokered by Qatar and Turkey has mostly held for the past two months, after dozens were killed on both sides in what was the deadliest confrontation in years between Afghanistan and Pakistan.
But heavy gunfire and shelling erupted again late on Friday, with each side blaming the other for sparking the deadly violence.
“Unfortunately, last night the Pakistani side once again attacked Spin Boldak in Kandahar. The forces of the Islamic Emirate had to respond,” Hamdullah Fitrat, deputy spokesperson of Afghanistan’s Taliban government, told Arab News on Saturday.
He said five people on the Afghan side — including four civilians — were killed in the violence, while five others were injured.
Mosharraf Zaidi, spokesman for Pakistan’s prime minister, said that the Taliban “resorted to unprovoked firing” along their shared border.
“An immediate, befitting & intense response has been given by our armed forces. Pakistan remains fully alert & committed to ensuring its territorial integrity & the safety of our citizens,” he wrote on X.
Local residents in Spin Boldak told Arab News that Friday’s clashes forced families to flee their homes.
“Mortars and bullets smashed into houses and public places,” Samiullah Malang said. “It was difficult … (to) watch women and children flee on motorbikes, tractors and on foot in the cold night.”
Although the fighting largely subsided around midnight, sporadic gunfire continued into the morning, he added.
The overnight violence also reached the Friendship Gate, an official crossing point between Spin Boldak and Chaman, which was closed by Pakistan authorities after the fighting.
Clashes at the border have led to repeated closures of the key border crossing, devastating commerce and disrupting the movement of thousands.
“Every time Pakistan shuts the gate, our fruits rot inside the trucks,” said Afghan businessman Haji Rahmatullah. “Hotels are filled with patients waiting to cross for treatment.”
After the ceasefire agreement in October, subsequent talks for a long-term truce have so far yielded little progress. The latest deadly exchange of fire comes amid reports of back-channel negotiations between Afghan and Pakistani officials, which neither governments have openly confirmed.
Both sides remain deeply divided on core security issues and repeated clashes highlight the absence of an effective de-escalation mechanism, according to Asad Waheedi, a political analyst based in Kabul.
“The talks are not bearing fruit because the demands are unrealistic,” he said. “Pakistan asks the Taliban to guarantee the security of their country. This is impossible. Even when America had all its troops here, it could not guarantee Afghanistan’s security. The Taliban have no presence there (in Pakistan). It is an impractical demand.”
Clashes between Afghan and Pakistani forces along the Durand Line — their 2,640-km border — have occurred for decades but intensified after the Taliban took control of Afghanistan in 2021, following the withdrawal of US-led troops.
Pakistan accuses the Afghan Taliban of sheltering fighters from the banned Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan and allowing them to stage cross-border attacks — a charge Afghanistan denies, saying it does not allow its territory to be used against other countries.
The deadly violence in October was triggered by an unclaimed explosion in Kabul and another in the southeastern province of Paktika, for which the Afghan government blamed the Pakistani military.
“The facts show that the distance between them is huge,” Waheedi said. “Until the demands become practical, these talks will go nowhere, and the fighting will continue.”
