Over 800 South Sudanese killed in April-June, says UN

JUBA, South Sudan

The UN on Thursday said that at least 887 civilians were killed between April and June across South Sudan.

In a quarterly report, The UN Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS) Human Rights Division documented more than 417 incidents of violence against civilians, in which 1,620 civilians were subjected to four major forms of individual harm.

The report said that 887 of the civilians were killed, 531 injured, 176 abducted and 26 were subjected to sexual violence.

It disclosed that between January and March 2020, 275 incidents were documented, involving at least 1,767 civilian victims, in which 658 civilians were killed, 452 injured, 592 abducted and 65 were subjected to sexual violence.

"The overall number of civilians affected by violence decreased by 8 per cent, despite an increase by more than half (52 per cent) in the number of incidents compared to previous period," the report added.

It disclosed that inter-communal violence involving community-based militias/civil defense was the main form of violence accounting for more than 86% of all victims in the second quarter report.

"As a result of the pervasive involvement of heavily armed community-based militias/civil defense groups, supported in some circumstances by organized forces, intercommunal violence continued to have devastating consequences on local populations," it said.