8/13/2019 South Sudan the State That Fell Apart in a Week

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South Sudan: the state

that fell apart in a week The first western journalist into South Sudan reports from Juba on the brutal andsudden descent into civil war

A young cattle herder from the Dinka tribe carries his AK 4 rifle near !umbek" capitalof the #akes State in central South Sudan$ %hotograph& 'oran Tomasevic(!euters

Daniel Howden in Juba)onday *+ December *,-+

A week ago" Simon K" a *,.year.old student living in the capital of South Sudan " wasarrested by men in military uniforms$ /e was asked a 0uestion that has taken ondeadly importance in the world1s newest country in the past seven days& incholdi 23 hat is your name53 in Dinka" the language of the country1s president and its largestethnic group$Those who" like Simon" were unable to answer" risked being identified as 6uer" theethnic group of the former vice.president now leading the armed opposition and facing

the brunt of what insiders are describing as the world1s newest civil war$Simon K was taken to a police station in the 'udele market district of Juba" where hewas marched past several dead bodies and locked in a room with other young men" all6uer$ 3 e counted ourselves and found we were *7*"3 he told the 'uardian$ 3Thenthey put guns in through the windows and started to shoot us$3

The massacre continued for two days with soldiers returning at intervals to shoot againif they saw any sign of life$ Simon was one of -* men to survive the assault by

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covering themselves in the bodies of the dead and dying$

A displaced family from

South Sudan1s 6uer tribe" who fled their home in fear of ethnic killing by the Dinka.ledgovernment" erects a makeshift shelter inside the 8nited 6ations )ission in Sudanfacility in Jabel$ %hotograph& James Akena(!euters

Simon spoke from inside the 86 compound that has become an emergency sanctuaryto the remaining 6uer in the capital$ Sitting on a filthy mattress by the side of a dirtroad" with bandages covering bullet wounds in his stomach and legs" he recalled& 39twas horrible" because to survive 9 had to cover myself with the bodies of dead people"and during the two days" the bodies started to smell really bad$3

9n the space of seven desperate days" the 86 base has been transformed from alogistics hub for an aid operation into a s0ualid sanctuary for more than -,",,, people$ Amid the confusion of bodies and belongings" a handmade sign hangs from the rolls ofra:or wire$ 3The lord is our best defender"3 it reads$

;ut there is no sign here of the lord1s defence" as the country that gainedindependence in *,-- with huge international fanfare and support has come apart inthe space of a week$

The latest violence began after a fight between Dinka and 6uer soldiers in thepresidential guard on -7 December" igniting a simmering political power struggle in

South Sudan1s ruling party and sparking widespread ethnic killings$Juba resident 'atluak Kual" who has bullet wounds in both arms and a prosthetic footfrom the *,.year battle that split Sudan and created an independent south two yearsago under %resident Salva Kiir" says the country is once more at war$

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attacked his home area of /ai !eferendum$ Some of the men outran the youngerones" who were caught by men in uniform$ 3They caught the boys and 9 stopped towatch$ They counted them and there were *- boys" as young as him"3 he said"pointing at a -7.year.old$ 3They tied their hands behind their backs and killed them$3

Bien K" *C" was at home last )onday evening at around -,pm in the Jabarona area

on the outskirts of the capital when he heard shooting$ As it came closer he decided tohide at his brother1s home$ There were five of them inside the simple structure& hisbrother" his brother1s wife" one.year.old niece and another si .year.old girl" a cousin$Bien recalls the moment just after midnight when the tracks of a tank ripped throughthe walls and crushed the one.year.old$ 3The tanks came and ran over the house"3 hesaid$ 3The men escaped but the woman and girls were killed$3

8nlike some of Juba1s neighbourhoods" which have divided along ethnic lines"Jabarona is a mi ed area and Bien believes the tank operators had guides showingthem where 6uer people were living$

9n neighbourhoods such as )angaten" /ai !eferendum" Area -, and <den ity" it isnow easy to tell where the 6uer community lived$ /alfway down the main marketstreet of )angaten" a dust.blown comple of tin.shack shops and rickety stalls" thebustle and activity stops$ )ost businesses have been ransacked" their rough shelvesstripped of everythingE stalls have been burned to the ground$ rossing into /ai!eferendum" one of the highest density settlements in Juba" is now a ghost town ofabandoned houses$

@n Saturday" a few laid.back looters could be seen loading a meagre haul of plasticchairs" pots and foam mattresses on to three.wheelers$ 9n some houses nearby platesof food were left behind" clothes have been scattered where people fled$ @nly brokenplastic chairs" empty tubs of milk powder and smashed fans lie in the dirt$

86 peacekeepersdistribute bo es of food to displaced people in South Sudan$ %hotograph& Anna

Adhikari(A?%('etty 9mages

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rossing the boundary into <den ity" the atmosphere changed$ %lainclothes soldiers"one of them with a plastic.handled kitchen knife in the pocket of his shorts and amachete visible under his football shirt stopped and 0uestioned any outsiders$ @nly *,metres away was the charred corpse of a man lying with his legs splayed outside thelooted <den Sports bar$

6earby" a nervous family had returned to their mud hut home" known as a tukul" to visit)oses1 aged mother who is too ill to make the journey to the 86 base less than a mileaway$ /e was determined to leave before nightfall" when a dusk.to.dawn curfewimposed by the government begins$ 3The army is coming at night"3 he said$ 3Bou hearthe guns going tuk.tuk.tuk$3

!ose" who emerged from the tukul where )oses1 mother is bed.ridden" said&3<verybody has been running because of war$ e1re also running$3

South Sudan1s government" which has received billions of dollars in foreign aid and ishome to the largest 86 peacekeeping operation in the world outside the Democratic

!epublic of ongo" continues to insist that massacres in Juba have not happened$The president" whose guards sparked the first fighting on -7 December" has assuredthe South Sudanese that his forces will protect civilians$

%hilip Aguer" a spokesman for the Sudan %eople1s #iberation Army" the civil warguerrilla force that is now the national army" denied any orchestrated attacks hadtaken place$ /e said he was unaware of the slaughter at )angaten police station andblamed any deaths on 3criminal elements3 who had e ploited the chance to loot andkill afforded by the crisis$ 3<ven though some of these criminals are wearing armyuniforms does not necessarily mean they are part of the army"3 he said$ /e denied anynational army soldiers were involved& 36o S%#A soldiers are involved in this criminalactivity$3

ith regard to those carrying out the atrocities" he added& 3 e are ready to arrestthem and take them to court$3

;ut this description of rogue elements does not tally with the account of !iek " whowas until Saturday a serving member of the presidential guard" known to Jubans asthe 3Tigers3$

A three.year veteran of the multi.ethnic unit that was meant to bind the diversecommunities of what had been southern Sudan" he was not openly known as a 6uerto many of his colleagues and does not bear the traditional 3'aar3 scarring that many6uer men have on their faces$

6ow in hiding in the 86 base" he described how fighting between Dinka and 6uermembers of the Tigers last Sunday night had spilled over into attacks on civilian 6uersall over the city$

3They took people who were not soldiers and tied their hands and shot them$ 9 sawthis with my own eyes" 9 was there wearing the same uniform as them$3

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Boung men from the Dinka community" many of them with no military training" weregiven uniforms and guns from various armouries around the capital" including onelocated at %resident Kiir1s own compound" known as J-" he says$

39t is soldiers who are doing this and militia from Dinka boys who have been givenguns from the Tigers"3 he said$

!iek said that his Dinka colleagues could not act without the authority of theircommander and that they were 3the same soldiers that are killing people at night3$

!iek " who decided to abandon his post in the president1s compound at the weekendas he feared for his life and was horrified at the murder of civilians" said that the scaleof the killings was being covered up$ 3 TheyF are using the curfew to remove thebodies"3 he said$

/e described how he had seen 3large trucks3 full of bodies" some of which were takento grave sites dug with bulldo:ers" while others had been dumped in the river 6ile attwo points& one near the ;ilpam barracks and one at Juba bridge$ These reports havebeen corroborated by fishermen who have seen the bodies up on the river bank$ 3Thenumbers they are saying are completely wrong" people have been killed everywhere"3!iek said$

The 6uer who have survived in Juba" numbering *,",,," are now crammed into thecity1s two 86 bases$ Their fate is matched by another -4",,, civilians from otherethnic groups sheltering with the 86 in South Sudan1s other main towns$

)any of the 6uer crowded into the main 86 mission base in Juba said they were surethe peacekeepers would protect them despite the evacuation over the weekend of all

non.critical 86 staff$6ot everyone feels safe" though$ earing a dusty pinstriped suit jacket andapologising for not having showered in si days" 7-.year.old %eter ;ey was unsure$/e has watched in recent days as one evacuation flight after another has takenforeign nationals to safety from the airport on the other side of the fence$ 3 e see fromhistory that the 86 has left people behind before in !wanda"3 he said$ 3They put theirown people on helicopters and left the people who died$3