Gov’t right to seek support from AU, UN to speed up investigation into Wad Medani Killings

The brutal slaughter of South Sudanese nationals following the recapture of Wad Medani town, Al Jazirah State by the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) will go down in history as one of the worst violations committed by one of the belligerent parties in the ongoing conflict in Sudan.

The targeting of South Sudanese is believed to have been premeditated going by video clips, circulating on social media in which Gen. Yasser Al-Atta, the Assistant Commander-in-Chief of the Sudanese Army Forces, appears claiming that 65 percent of the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces fighters are South Sudanese.

The killings angered South Sudanese back home, who in turn targeted Sudanese nationals and their businesses. About 16 Sudanese nationals were killed in violent riots that spread from Juba to Aweil, Tonj North and other parts of the country.

The South Sudanese government is right to seek the support of the African Union and the United Nations to probe the killings, because the investigations by the Sudanese government could lack impartiality.

This issue is very serious as it threatens to stain the once strong cordial relationship between the two countries. The two governments need to work together to see into it that the killings are investigated to the satisfaction of the parties.