UN rights body warns of ‘mass atrocities’ in South Sudan after general’s threats

GENEVA — The United Nations Commission on Human Rights in South Sudan warned on Sunday that inflammatory rhetoric by senior military commanders and fresh troop deployments in Jonglei State have sharply increased the risk of mass violence against civilians.

The warning follows speech on Saturday by General Johnson Olony, the deputy army chief for mobilization, who reportedly ordered troops to “spare no lives”—including the elderly and livestock—and burn down homes during upcoming operations in the restive region.

In a statement extended to Sudans Post, the Commission said such public directives, combined with active force mobilisation, represented a dangerous escalation that could further unravel South Sudan’s fragile peace agreement.

The body reminded military leaders that under international law, commanders who incite crimes or fail to prevent them face individual criminal responsibility.

“Language that calls for the killing of those who are hors de combat (no longer participating in hostilities) and civilians, including the elderly—with assertions that ‘no one should be spared’—is not only shocking, it is profoundly dangerous,” said Yasmin Sooka, Chair of the Commission.

“In South Sudan’s past, such rhetoric has preceded mass atrocities. When such language is issued or tolerated by those in positions of command, it signals permission to commit violence and removes any expectation of restraint. At a time when civilians are already displaced, traumatised and exposed, this kind of incitement places entire communities at grave risk.”

The Commission described the escalation as part of a wider political breakdown marked by sustained violations of the peace deal and weakening command discipline.

“This is a moment of acute risk and political responsibility,” said Commissioner Barney Afako. “Words uttered by commanders shape troop behaviour on the ground. When senior figures issue reckless or violent rhetoric, or fail to counter it decisively, they lower the threshold for abuses and send a signal that restraint no longer applies.”

Afako warned that the situation demands immediate intervention.

“The mobilisation of forces in this context, coupled with ethnicised messaging, risks triggering a spiral of retaliatory violence that could rapidly escalate beyond control… We are fast running out of time.”

The UN peacekeeping mission in South Sudan (UNMISS) separately condemned the threats, noting that conflict in Jonglei has already displaced more than 180,000 people recently.

“Inflammatory rhetoric calling for violence against civilians, including the most vulnerable, is utterly abhorrent and must stop now,” said Graham Maitland, Officer in Charge of UNMISS.

The Commission stressed that President Salva Kiir, as Commander-in-Chief, bears a heightened duty to control forces operating in his name. It noted that command responsibility extends to those who incite violence or fail to punish it.

“The peace agreement was designed precisely to prevent this kind of descent into violence,” said Commissioner Carlos Castresana Fernández. “Public orders or statements that encourage attacks on civilians – including rhetoric that frames entire communities as legitimate targets – may give rise to individual criminal responsibility under international law.”

“Those who incite, order or fail to prevent such acts can be held accountable.”

UNMISS urged the country’s leaders to halt the fighting and return to consensus-based decision-making to save the transition process.

“UNMISS urges the country’s leaders to put the interests of their people first by stopping the fighting and upholding their commitments under the peace agreement,” Maitland said.