Now that a ceasefire has been declared in South Sudan, horrifying reports of the devastation that occurred are emerging.
According to The Christian Post, hundreds of Christians have reportedly been massacred in many brutal ways, including being burned alive, suffocated, shot, and hanged. Even children and the disabled were not exempt from the violence, which also included widespread occurrences of rape.
"It was a massacre although the number of victims is still unknown," church sources in the area told Fides News Agency. "The humanitarian issue is the most urgent, starting from the lack of drinking water. Thousands of people have taken refuge in churches and much is being done to offer them assistance, despite a thousand difficulties. The International Red Cross has managed to send their teams in the two main hospitals."
Many people have fled to churches which serve as one of the few places of refuge amidst the civil war. Humanitarian groups are working on getting aid to victims of the violence. A precise estimate of those killed has not yet been released, but at least 300 people have reportedly lost their lives.
“The scale and types of sexual violence — primarily by government SPLA forces and affiliated militia — are described in searing, devastating detail, as is the almost casual, yet calculated, attitude of those slaughtering civilians and destroying property and livelihoods," said U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights Zeid Ra'ad Al Hussein.
The U.S. Department of State has warned its citizens not to travel to South Sudan.
Publication date: July 13, 2016