South Sudan to put rebel leaders on trial, risking ceasefire

Photo credit: AFP

Refugees from South Sudan fetch water at the Dzaipi Refugee Transit Centre in Adjumani.

Juba:  South Sudan released seven rebel detainees on Thursday but vowed to put on trial key leaders accused of launching weeks of fighting, a move likely to threaten a fragile ceasefire.

Both sides implemented the ceasefire last Friday, but combat has only eased, not ended, with reports of continuing clashes and a worsening humanitarian crisis that has left thousands dead and forced almost 800,000 to flee their homes.

Four leaders remain in custody in South Sudan, facing trial for attempting to topple President Salva Kiir after fighting broke out in the capital Juba on December 15.

Kiir accused his sacked deputy Riek Machar and other former officials of fomenting a coup against his government.

Eleven ex-officials were arrested, while Machar -- who denied any coup plot -- fled.

Fighting quickly spread across the country. Aid groups say up to 10,000 people have been killed in the conflict, although many fear more may have died.

United Nations aid chief Valerie Amos wrapped up a three-day visit Wednesday to the war-torn country, where she saw the results of over six weeks of bloodshed, with horrific atrocities reported to have been committed by both sides.

"The future of South Sudan rests on all the people being able to work together," she said, after a tour in which she saw food stores looted of tonnes of food aid, in devastated towns where workers were still burying those recently killed in the fighting.

The fighting has seen waves of brutal revenge attacks, as fighters and ethnic militia use the violence to loot and settle old scores.

South Sudan's Justice Minister Paulino Wanawila said Tuesday that the four men in detention will face trial while three others, including Machar, will face justice if caught.

"If someone violates the law you don't go and torture that person, you prosecute that person according to the law," he said.

'Things may get worse before they get better'

But the release of all the prisoners has been a key demand of the rebels, and Kenya's foreign ministry said it was "still negotiating for the release of the remaining four."

John Luk Jok, a former justice minister, spoke on behalf of those released, who appeared in apparent good health.

"We don't feel bitter, we only feel sad that the crisis in our country is happening just after our independence," he said. "We don't see our president as our enemy."

Many fear the conflict has slid out of the control of political leaders, with ethnic violence and revenge attacks between the Dinka people of Kiir and the Nuer of Machar, the country's two largest groups. Over 76,000 civilians are still sheltering inside UN peacekeeping bases.

Government and opposition rebels are still fighting for control in key areas, with the United Nations calling the situation "fragile".

Toby Lanzer, UN aid chief in South Sudan, warned that they were in a "race against time" to support those affected, with the rainy season looming and thousands living outside.

"I think the very sad reality for people, for civilians in South Sudan, is that things may get worse before they get better," he said, but saying it was "never too early" to start reconciliation.

Clashes were reported Wednesday in the oil-producing Unity state, close to the settlement of Leer, Machar's home region.

Aid workers have said they were struggling to cope with those needing support.

"The crisis today is already very severe, you have hundreds of thousands of people displaced, and many, many wounded, who have come to our facilities," said Arjan Hehenkamp, from Medecins sans Frontieres (Doctors Without Borders, MSF).

"We face an emergency today, for many more than only the displaced, and we will continue to see that for the next six months and probably into the next year."

MSF has pulled out staff from its clinic in Leer fearing violence.

Both sides say the other has already broken the ceasefire, but insist they are committed to the deal.

Kiir has hinted he could use his power to grant amnesties but has said that legal processes must be completed first. For NDTV Updates,

South Sudan fighting continues after ceasefire: UN

Refugees from South Sudan fetch water at the Dzaipi Refugee Transit Centre in Adjumani.

Juba, South Sudan:  Government troops and rebels in South Sudan still fought sporadic battles after a ceasefire came into force on Friday, the United Nations said.

The ceasefire came into effect at 1730 GMT despite rebel accusations that the army had attacked their positions in two separate regions just hours earlier.

"The UN Mission in South Sudan says that sporadic fighting took place in parts of the country today," including after the ceasefire, UN deputy spokesman Farhan Haq said.

Rebel spokesman Lul Ruai Koang said before the ceasefire deadline that "simultaneous attacks have been launched" by the army on positions in the northern oil state of Unity, and in the volatile eastern Jonglei region.

But army spokesman Philip Aguer said he had "no reports of fighting", and that clashes in Jonglei had taken place before the deal was signed, when rebels attacked government forces.

Both sides pledged on Thursday to halt fighting within 24 hours and end five weeks of bitter conflict that has left thousands dead, but both sides have said they doubt the other can fully control the forces on the ground.

Koang alleged that South Sudanese government troops -- as well as Ugandan soldiers and rebels from neighbouring Sudan's war-torn Darfur region, the Justice and Equality Movement (JEM) -- had attacked rebel positions, warning they had the "right to defend themselves against this senseless aggression."

The ceasefire agreement was signed late Thursday in the Ethiopian capital Addis Ababa by representatives of South Sudan's President Salva Kiir and rebel delegates loyal to ousted vice president Riek Machar, and was greeted by cheers from regional peace brokers and diplomats.

"It is critical that both parties implement the cessation of hostilities agreement in full and immediately," the UN spokesman said.

US President Barack Obama, whose country provided crucial backing on South Sudan's path to statehood, described the deal as "a critical first step toward building a lasting peace".

Kiir urged those rebels not under Machar's control to also respect the deal.

"Now that people have fought, people should come back to their senses and we sit down so that we can resolve this conflict through negotiation," Kiir said in address Friday.
Fear of revenge attacks

Up to 10,000 people are believed to have been killed in the fighting pitting forces loyal to Kiir against a loose coalition of army defectors and ethnic militia nominally headed by Machar, a seasoned guerrilla fighter.

The fighting has been marked by atrocities on both sides with some 700,000 people forced from their homes in the impoverished nation.

There has also been a wave of brutal revenge attacks, as fighters and ethnic militia use the violence to loot and settle old scores.

Food to feed a quarter of a million people for a month has been looted from UN World Food Programme stores -- a staggering 3,700 metric tons -- with the agency warning that "humanitarian needs will continue long after the fighting stops".

More than 76,000 people are crowded inside UN peacekeeper bases across the country -- the highest number since the start of the conflict -- with most hesitant to leave the protection offered by the compound.

"No one I know is preparing to leave yet, they want to wait to see how things turn out," said David Choul, one of thousands squeezed into a former sports ground turned into a UN base in Juba.

Government delegation head Nhial Deng Nhial said he was sceptical of the rebels' capacity to curb the violence, "given that the bulk of the rebels are made up of civilians" -- essentially any one of the countless people who have kept hold of their guns after decades of conflict.

"It won't happen overnight when there was so much fighting going on," said one UN Security Council diplomat following the crisis.

But Rebecca Garang, widow of South Sudan's independence leader John Garang, and who stood with Machar to make a political challenge to the government in December before fighting began, dismissed such concerns.

"The ceasefire did not just come alone in isolation without Dr Riek (Machar) knowing what is going on... so I think he will be able to talk to all of them and control them," she told the BBC. For NDTV Updates,