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Amnesty International, the human rights advocacy group, has said government security forces in South Sudan arrested more than 60 men and boys in Leer, a town in the northern Unity State, locked them in a shipping container until they suffocated. The soldiers then dumped their bodies in a nearby field. The victims were accused of supporting rebel forces.  

South Sudan gained independence from Sudan in 2011 following civil wars and a referendum. The country has suffered from internal conflict since its independence. More than 100,000 people are estimated to have been killed in the inter-ethnic clashes following political power struggle between President Salva Kiir and his ex-deputy Riek Machar.

After months of negotiations, South Sudan’s warring parties finally agreed to a ceasefire deal in August of last year. The terms of the agreement involved power sharing, security arrangements, humanitarian assistance, reconciliation, among other terms. However, the power-sharing government has yet to be formed.

The killing of about 60 men and boys in a shipping container in Leer was first revealed by the Ceasefire and Transitional Security Arrangements Monitoring Mechanism (CTSAMM), the body responsible for reporting on the implementation of the permanent ceasefire.

According to investigations by Amnesty International, the killing took place at Comboni Catholic Church in October 2015. Their bodies were dumped about one kilometre from Leer town. Relatives of the dead told Amnesty International that the victims were cattle keepers, traders and students, not fighters.

“The arbitrary arrest, torture, and mass killing of these detainees is just one illustration of the South Sudanese government’s absolute disregard for the laws of war. Unlawful confinement, torture, willfully causing great suffering, and willfully killing are all war crimes,” said Lama Fakih, Senior Crisis Advisor at Amnesty International.

Following their death, government soldiers loaded the bodies into a truck and dumped them in two open pits in Kulier, Juong payam, approximately 1km northeast of Leer town. Family members who visited the area said the bodies had been eaten by animals and had started to decompose.

The advocacy group has called for an investigation asking that the perpetrators should be held to account.

“In order for effective prosecutions to take place, the African Union Commission should immediately take steps to set up the hybrid criminal court provided for in the August 2015 peace agreement, and ensure that it immediately opens investigations into crimes under international law, including into this atrocity,” Amnesty International said.