UN rights chief urges warring sides in South Sudan to ‘pull back from the brink’

The United Nations human rights chief on Friday called on all parties in South Sudan to de-escalate fighting, warning that the worsening conflict threatens to further unravel the country’s fragile peace process and deepen an already dire humanitarian crisis.

“The escalating hostilities in South Sudan portend a real risk of further exacerbating the already dire human rights and humanitarian situation, and undermining the country’s fragile peace process,” said Volker Türk, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights.

“All parties must urgently pull back from the brink,” he added.

According to the UN Human Rights Office (OHCHR), the violence has intensified since May 3, with reports of indiscriminate aerial bombardments as well as river and ground offensives by the South Sudan People’s Defence Forces (SSPDF) targeting Sudan People’s Liberation Army-in-Opposition (SPLA-IO) positions in parts of Fangak in Jonglei State and Tonga County in Upper Nile.

The agency said at least 75 civilians have been killed and 78 others injured in the violence between May 3 and May 20. Thousands have been displaced, and civilian-populated areas — including a medical facility operated by Doctors Without Borders (MSF) — have come under attack.