Independent UN experts denounce human rights abuses in South Sudan

A group of independent UN experts accused several South Sudanese officials on Monday of responsibility in a series of atrocities committed against civilians.

After gaining independence from Sudan in 2011, South Sudan, the world's youngest state, descended into a civil war between arch-enemies Riek Machar and Salva Kiir that left nearly 400,000 dead and millions displaced between 2013 and 2018 when a peace agreement was signed.

The governor of the northern state of Unity, Joseph Monytuil, as well as South Sudanese People's Defense Forces lieutenant general Thoi Chany Reat, have been identified as implicated in large-scale killings, rapes and sexual slavery.

Military and government officials involved in the abuses "remain in office", according to the UN independent experts.

The authorities in Juba have accused the UN commission of interfering in its national affairs and have rejected the previous findings of the three-member panel.