The allegations surfaced in a report by The Associated Press, which reported government troops killed at least one local journalist, harassed aid workers, sexually assaulted foreign women and girls and carried out mock executions.The brutal attacks and killing occurred after South Sudanese soldiers defeated opposition forces in the capital.
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In an incident on July 11 also reported by the Associated Press news agency, HRW said the government troops carried out an assault at a residential compound housing worldwide organizations, where they killed a local Nuer journalist, raped or gang-raped several foreign women, and beat and robbed people.
U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations, Samantha Power, said on Monday: “We are deeply concerned that United Nations peacekeepers were apparently either incapable of or unwilling to respond to calls for help”.
Among them was Jesse Bunch, a private contractor, who was hiding in a room with several other Westerners and was shot through a door in the leg.
“Throughout this three-year conflict, the government of South Sudan has routinely allowed impunity for murder and sexual violence”.
But the mandate is certainly an improvement to the United Nations operation, notably in that the added troops will be deployed as a special protection unit with the power to engage any actor committing violence against civilians, including government forces.
United Nations peacekeepers and the US Embassy have been accused of failing to respond when a compound used by foreign aid workers in Juba was attacked by armed men last month.
The UN secretary-general has launched an investigation into claims that a peacekeeping mission to South Sudan, which included a small contingent of British troops, failed to respond to repeated requests to help a group of aid workers and journalists who were attacked and raped by soldiers. The U.S. played a central role in helping the country gain independence in 2011 after decades of war with Sudan.
Human Rights Watch is now calling for increased sanctions and an arms embargo on South Sudan.
Records collected by the AP show that the U.N. Joint Operations Center in the South Sudanese capital of Juba was contacted about the attack at 3:37 p.m., just minutes after it began. The violence quickly spread across the city.
She was successively raped by 15 South Sudanese soldiers and described how everyone at the complex was contacting anyone they could for help, including the United Nations peacekeeping force and the U.S. Embassy.
“Monday was relatively chill”, one survivor said.
What was thought to be celebratory gunfire was heard. A Terrain staffer from Uganda said he saw between 80 and 100 men pour into the compound after breaking open the gate with gunshots and tire irons. They outnumbered the security staff and went door-to-door looting rooms, taking with them money, phones, laptops, and vehicle keys. “Why, after two years of documenting these kind of incidents, would we be surprised that they would do it to Americans, to Westerners, to aid workers?” she says.
“The unnatural reality of one country and two armies coexisting side by side is dysfunctional and already proven to be disastrous as we witnessed during July’s tragic events”, he said. Many had shoulder patches with the face of a tiger, the insignia worn by the president’s personal guard.
For about an hour, soldiers beat the American and fired bullets at his feet and close to his head. Eventually, one soldier who appeared to be in charge told him to leave the compound. Soldiers at the gate looked at his USA passport and handed it back, with instructions.
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Kiir said his government would consider the U.N.’s plan despite initially opposing the proposal.
