– ‘Piles of bodies’ –
In Bentiu, the United Nations on Monday reported one of the worst atrocities in the conflict.
Toby Lanzer, the top UN aid official in the country, told AFP after visiting Bentiu he had witnessed the “most terrible sight”.
“There are piles of bodies lining the streets where they had been executed, in the market, outside and inside places of worship… the majority wearing civilian clothes,” Lanzer said Monday.
Fighters took to the radio to urge men to rape women from the opposition ethnic group and said rival groups should be forced from the town, the UN said.
Rebel spokesman Lul Ruai Koang on Tuesday rejected the UN accusations as “unfounded, cheap propaganda”, pinning the blame on government forces.
But the UN said the killings continued for two days after the rebels claimed victory in the town, including issuing a statement boasting of “mopping and cleaning up operations”.
The United States has threatened sanctions against those responsible for continuing the war. READ: Leaders hold South Sudan crisis summit as fighting rages.
The US ambassador to the UN Samantha Power in a statement Tuesday warned that “all responsible for South Sudan horrors and deliberately targeting civilians must be held accountable.”
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