VOA标准英语--HRW Documents Ethnic Killings in S. Sudan 南苏丹种族残杀

HRW Documents Ethnic 1 Killings 2 in S. Sudan 南苏丹种族残杀

People displaced by the fighting in Bor county, stand by their belongings 3 after arriving in the port of Minkaman, in Awerial county, Lakes state, in South Sudan, Jan. 14, 2014.

A human rights group says appalling 4 crimes have been committed against civilians 6 in South Sudan for no other reason than their ethnicity. It’s calling on the U.N. to support an independent commission of inquiry 7 to investigate alleged 8 crimes.

Human Rights Watch began collecting reports of ethnic targeting shortly after fighting broke out in December between government and opposition 9 forces.

“What we’re seeing, in part, is the reopening of old wounds and old scars that have really been ripped open in the past few weeks -- scars that were created by past atrocities 10 during the long civil war in Sudan that were never adequately addressed -- either in peace negotiations 11 -- or in the last few years when South Sudan became independent,” said Leslie Lefkow, the group’s deputy director of the Africa division.

Human Rights Watch focused primarily on Juba and Bor.

She said, “The patterns differ slightly. For example, in Juba, much of the violence was concentrated in the first few days after the conflict that started on December 15th. In Bor, civilians have been the victims of crossfire 12, of fighting that has swept through Bor because the town has changed hands several times in the last month.”

Lefkow gave an example of some of the group’s findings.

“We documented very serious crimes in Juba when Nuer men were being sought out in various neighborhoods by soldiers from the SPLA, who were going house to house and rounding-up and sometimes shooting Nuer men primarily based on their ethnicity.”

She said that Dinka have been targeted as well.

“In Akobo, for example, early on, the U.N. base was attacked and a number of Dinka individuals, who had gone there for shelter, were killed. The details of that attack still remain very unclear, but there’s no doubt that people were killed, partly at least, on the basis that they were Dinka,” she said.

Three U.N. peacekeepers from India were also killed in that attack.

Human Rights Watch also has documented cases of looting – not only of civilian 5 property, but that owned by U.N. agencies.

“This can very long-term ramifications 13. It has serious implications for the ability of humanitarian 14 aid agencies to operate in places -- for the WFP, the World Food Program  -- and other agencies, to distribute food when their vehicles and their warehouses 15 have been looted. And civilians desperately 16 need this assistance in the coming days and weeks given the massive scale of displacement 17 that’s taken place,” Lefkow said.

More than 400,000 have been displaced within South Sudan and nearly 100,000 have fled to neighboring countries. U.N. and U.S. officials said thousands may have been killed since December.

The Human Rights Watch official says several key steps need to be taken. It calls on the leaders of both sides to issue orders against targeting civilians. Next, she says an international commission of inquiry should be set-up.

“This inquiry needs to be staffed by independent experts – people who have experience with South Sudan – with human rights investigation 18 – with arms and munitions 19 investigations 20 – and forensic 21 experience. And this kind of inquiry if done credibly 22 and independently I think would be an important step towards the long-term healing, reconciliation 23 and justice process,” she said.

Human Rights Watch said such a commission should report to both the African Union and the United Nations. Last month, the AU agreed a commission of inquiry should be established.