UN: At Least 440 Civilians Killed in South Sudan Clashes

Opposition soldiers pose for a picture while loading their guns in Panyume town, the headquarters for the opposition in Central Equatoria state, in South Sudan. (AP)
Opposition soldiers pose for a picture while loading their guns in Panyume town, the headquarters for the opposition in Central Equatoria state, in South Sudan. (AP)
TT
20

UN: At Least 440 Civilians Killed in South Sudan Clashes

Opposition soldiers pose for a picture while loading their guns in Panyume town, the headquarters for the opposition in Central Equatoria state, in South Sudan. (AP)
Opposition soldiers pose for a picture while loading their guns in Panyume town, the headquarters for the opposition in Central Equatoria state, in South Sudan. (AP)

At least 440 civilians died in fighting between warring groups in southwestern South Sudan in just a few months last year, the United Nations said on Tuesday.

“Grave human rights violations and abuses, including hundreds of killings, were committed against civilians during fighting in Tambura County, Western Equatoria State,” according to a joint report by the United Nations Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS) and the UN Human Rights Office.

It said that between June and September last year, at least 440 civilians were killed, 18 injured and 74 abducted during clashes between rival groups, AFP reported.

At least 64 civilians were also subjected to conflict-related sexual violence, among them a 13-year-old girl who was gang-raped to death, the report said, while at least 56 people were also reported missing during the June-September period.

In addition, some 80,000 were forced to flee their homes to escape fighting, it said.

“Looting and destruction of property, child conscription, attacks on personnel and facilities, hate speech and incitement to violence were among the other human rights violations the investigation uncovered.”

The report blamed members of the armed forces loyal to President Salva Kiir and rivals in the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement/Army in Opposition (SPLM/A-IO) of Deputy President Riek Machar, and “their respective affiliated militias”.

“We call on all parties to the conflict to hold to account all individuals implicated in the killings, rape and abductions, among other grave human rights violations,” UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet said in a statement.



Attacks on Syrian Security Forces Sent to Quell Sectarian Clashes Leave 18 Dead as Israel Strikes Targets to Protect Druze

Smoke billows following Israeli strikes in the distance as members of Syria's security forces man rocket launchers in an area between Mazraa and Walga near the predominantly Druze city of Sweida on July 14, 2025, following clashes between Bedouin tribes and Druze fighters. (AFP)
Smoke billows following Israeli strikes in the distance as members of Syria's security forces man rocket launchers in an area between Mazraa and Walga near the predominantly Druze city of Sweida on July 14, 2025, following clashes between Bedouin tribes and Druze fighters. (AFP)
TT
20

Attacks on Syrian Security Forces Sent to Quell Sectarian Clashes Leave 18 Dead as Israel Strikes Targets to Protect Druze

Smoke billows following Israeli strikes in the distance as members of Syria's security forces man rocket launchers in an area between Mazraa and Walga near the predominantly Druze city of Sweida on July 14, 2025, following clashes between Bedouin tribes and Druze fighters. (AFP)
Smoke billows following Israeli strikes in the distance as members of Syria's security forces man rocket launchers in an area between Mazraa and Walga near the predominantly Druze city of Sweida on July 14, 2025, following clashes between Bedouin tribes and Druze fighters. (AFP)

At least 18 members of Syria's security forces have been killed in the predominantly Druze city of Sweida, the Defense Ministry said, after they deployed to quell deadly sectarian clashes that had resumed on Monday, while Israel said it struck tanks in a town in the same province on the same day.

Sunday's fighting between Druze militiamen and Bedouin tribal fighters was the first time that sectarian violence erupted inside the city of Sweida itself, following months of tensions in the broader province.

Defense Ministry spokesperson Hassan Abdel-Ghani said in statements reported by Syrian state news agency SANA that a number of troops were also injured during attacks on military points by "outlawed groups".

Earlier, the ministry said in a statement to Reuters that these groups, who it did not identify further, had attacked a number of its units at dawn.

It said its forces responded to the attacks and had pursued the groups that refused to halt hostilities and continued to target security forces.

Meanwhile, the Israeli military said it attacked several tanks in a town in Sweida. Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz said the strikes were a "clear warning to the Syrian regime", adding that Israel would not allow harm to the Druze living in Syria.

Close ties between the Israeli state and its 120,000 Druze citizens, strengthened by the fact that Druze men serve in the Israel army, are one of the reasons for Israel's deepening involvement in Syria.

The fighting on Sunday left 30 people dead and prompted Syria's security forces to deploy units to the city to restore calm and guarantee safe passage for civilians looking to leave, the defense ministry said in earlier statements.

But intense clashes broke out again on Monday, local news outlet Sweida24 reported.

Another security source said that Syrian troops would aim to exert state control over the whole province to prevent any more violence, but that this could take several days.

It marked the latest episode of sectarian bloodshed in Syria, where fears among minority groups have surged since opposition fighters toppled President Bashar al-Assad in December, installing their own government and security forces.

The factions which fought Assad during the war agreed in December to dissolve into the Defense Ministry but efforts to integrate armed factions from minority groups - including Druze and Kurds - have largely stalled.

In southern Syria, efforts have been further complicated by Israel's stated policy that it would not allow Syria's new army to deploy south of Damascus and that Sweida and neighboring provinces should make up a demilitarized zone.

Interior Minister Anas Khattab said in a written statement carried on state media that the "absence of state institutions, especially military and security institutions, is a major cause of the ongoing tensions in Sweida and its countryside."

Sunday's violence erupted after a wave of kidnappings, including the abduction of a Druze merchant on Friday on the highway linking Damascus to Sweida, witnesses said.