Juba - South Sudan's army and several
armed groups killed more than 100 civilians in a surge in
violence in a southern region of the country after the signing
of a peace deal last year, a UN report said on Wednesday.
The armed forces also committed sexual violence including
rape against around 100 women and girls in the same region,
Central Equatoria, between September 2018 and April 2019, the
report by the UN peacekeeping mission in the country found.
The violence in the Central Equatorian region is an
exception to the trend of a "significant decrease in
conflict-related violations and abuses" across South Sudan since
the deal was signed, the report said.
Lul Ruai Koang, South Sudan's military spokesman, said he
had not seen the report and declined to comment on its contents.
South Sudan gained independence from Sudan in 2011 but
descended into a civil war two years later. A 2018 study found
that nearly 400 000 people have died as a result of the war.
After a string of failed agreements, the two main warring
parties signed a deal last September. In May, the two sides
agreed to give themselves six more months to form a unity
government as part of the deal.