By Carlos Muchave, International Correspondent, The Merit Newspaper
JUBA, SOUTH SUDAN — The political and humanitarian situation in South Sudan has taken a grim turn as fresh allegations of genocide and tribal violence emerge from the troubled East African nation.
Gatluak Thach, a South Sudanese human rights activist, has accused President Salva Kiir’s government of unleashing terror on its own citizens, with support from Ugandan forces. In a strongly worded social media post, Thach wrote: “My people are being terrorized by a genocidal and tribal regime in Juba, South Sudan, with assistance from a heartless dictator in Uganda. This is not what your fathers and uncles sacrificed their lives for you to be. God will help if no one else helps!”
Recent reports from local and international monitors confirm rising violence in areas like Nasir and Fangak Counties, where government troops have reportedly clashed with the Nuer White Army. According to the United Nations Commission on Human Rights in South Sudan, a bombing attack on a Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) hospital and pharmacy in Fangak County killed at least seven civilians and injured 20 others. The UN condemned the airstrike as deliberate and possibly a war crime.
In another alarming development, humanitarian agencies say armed conflicts have blocked emergency food and health supplies intended for more than 60,000 malnourished children in the Upper Nile region. The delay has persisted for over four weeks, worsening the already dire humanitarian crisis in the country.
“The level of brutality is unimaginable,” Thach further stated. “This is really a government that can do these terrible things to its own people — killing everything including livestock?”
The African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights has also expressed deep concern about the deteriorating human rights situation in South Sudan. The commission has called on all parties to the 2018 Revitalized Agreement on the Resolution of the Conflict in South Sudan (R-ARCSS) to respect the ceasefire and prevent further civilian casualties.
Despite a 2018 peace deal aimed at ending years of conflict, violence in South Sudan has flared up in multiple regions, raising fears of a return to full-scale civil war. International observers have warned that unless urgent action is taken, the country risks sliding deeper into chaos and humanitarian catastrophe.
The Merit Newspaper will continue monitoring the situation and providing updates as events unfold.
