South Sudan's English Daily Newspaper
"We Dare where others fear"
By Jenifer James
The Executive Director for the Community Empowerment for Progress Organization (CEPO), Edmund Yakani, has called on the government to establish a committee to investigate recent attacks on Sudanese citizens in South Sudan.
His appeal comes in response to reports of human rights violations against South Sudanese refugees in Sudan, which sparked retaliatory violence in Juba and other parts of the country.
Speaking to the media on Monday, Yakani noted that Sudan had already formed a committee to probe the atrocities committed in Wad Madani, El Gezira State which had sparked night riots in Juba.
Yakani stressed that justice must not be selective, urging both the Sudanese and South Sudanese governments to take responsibility for protecting innocent civilians.
“As much as we have lost South Sudanese lives in Sudan, we have also lost Sudanese lives in South Sudan. Justice must be applied equally,” Yakani stated, emphasising the need for transparent and independent investigations as urged by the African Union.
Under a new initiative called Sudan and South Sudan Solidarity, Yakani reaffirmed his commitment to advocate for accountability for all human rights violations.
“No crimes against civilians, whether South Sudanese in Sudan or Sudanese in South Sudan, must go unpunished,’’ he said.
The violence erupted last week after videos circulated on social media showing South Sudanese being killed by Sudan Armed Forces (SAF) soldiers and allied forces in Wad Madani, El Gezira State. The footage provoked outrage, leading to attacks on Sudanese nationals in South Sudan.
In response to the crisis, South Sudan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs summoned Sudanese Ambassador Isam Mohamed Hassan last Wednesday, to provide explanations regarding the violations which took place immediately after SAF recaptured El Gezira State on January 11, from the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF).
Meanwhile, Sudan has reconstituted its investigative committee to probe the killings of civilians, including South Sudanese, in Kambo Taiba, El-Gezira State. The committee, led by First Assistant to the Attorney General Yassir Bashir Al-Bukhari, was officially sworn in on Saturday.
Yakani warned that failure to hold perpetrators accountable will only fuel further violence and deepen divisions between the two nations.
Last week the South Sudanese police spokesperson, Col. John Kassara Koang confirmed 19 people were killed in the riots across the country.