The UN compound in the Tomping area in Juba on 16 July 2016. At least 300 people were killed and 42,000 have fled their homes this month during intense gun battles in the capital of South Sudan.
JOHANNESBURG – South Sudanese activists have launched a campaign to raise global awareness and encourage the African Union (AU) to take action to avert a looming genocide in South Sudan.
The Sudan Tribune reported that the Coalition of Advocates for South Sudan (CASS) -- comprising human rights organisations, activists, scholars and prominent figures -- appealed to individuals and organisations to stand in solidarity with ordinary South Sudanese people and to sign a letter petitioning the AU and East African regional bloc IGAD to act.
“The actions of the actors in the South Sudanese conflict have produced an outcome that has raised the possibility of genocide, as shown by the recent increase in ethnically targeted attacks in the country,” said the signatories of the petition.
“Polarised communities are also increasingly using various social media platforms to spew hate speech. This rhetoric is inciting violence and animosity in a period when bridge-building is desperately needed.
“All indications point to the fact that the threat of genocide will only increase in the days ahead,” they further warned.
The group said they wrote specifically to IGAD and the AU, because they are in charge of addressing the crisis in South Sudan.
The activists further urged regional organisations to “take immediate action to avert a looming catastrophe in South Sudan”.
“The competency and legacy of your organisations, and more importantly the life or death of innocent South Sudanese, will be determined by the actions you choose to take. Do not let genocide happen on your watch. Please act now.”
