UN mission condemns execution of POWs in South Sudan
The United Nations Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS) on Wednesday condemned the recent executions undertaken by officers of the South Sudan army (SSPDF) in Mayom County located in northern Unity state of South Sudan.
Nicholas Haysom, the Secretary-General’s Special Representative for South Sudan and Head of UNMISS, condemned the executions of rebel fighters on Aug.7 from the South Sudan People’s Movement/Army led by renegade general Stephen Buay Rolnyang.
The SSPM/A was accused of carrying out the attack on July 22 in Mayom County that left the County Commissioner and 12 government soldiers killed.
“Anyone who is suspected of a crime must be subject to a proper trial as part of a fair judicial process,” Haysom said in a statement.
The rebel fighters are alleged to have been captured by the Sudan Armed Forces and handed over to the SSPDF.
“Extrajudicial killings must be condemned because they cannot be a basis for restoring law and order,” Haysom said.
The SSPDF top leadership on Tuesday instituted probe into the killings it condemned as extra-judicial and in violation of Geneva conventions on war.
”The United Nations Mission in South Sudan, joins the government in expressing grave concern over reports that four officers from the rebel South Sudan People’s Movement/Army (SSPM/A) have been summarily executed in Mayom County, Unity State, in the north of the country,” it said.
Haysom stressed the importance of building strong local justice systems across South Sudan.
“It is only by strengthening the justice system and ensuring criminal cases are tried in a fair and timely manner that community members benefit from accountability and will have faith in justice,” he said.
