CEPO urges parliament to avert ‘genocide’ in Pochalla

JUBA, OCTOBER 2, 2023 (SUDANS POST) – South Sudan’s civil society watchdog Community Empowerment for Progress Organization (CEPO) has urged the transitional parliament to intervene to avert what he calls a ‘genocide’ against the people of Pochalla.

This comes after eyewitnesses told Sudans Post on Sunday night that a battalion of the South Sudan People’s Defense Forces (SSPDF) accompanied by armed youth from Pertet and Pibor were heading towards Pochalla with a mission to recapture army base captured by armed youth a week earlier.

According to locals, the force comprising of 800 is led by an unidentified SSPDF captain and was seen marching towards Pochalla on Sunday afternoon. They have reportedly mobilized in Pertet and Pibor county for several days.

In a statement, CEPO called on parliament to immediately intervene before a genocide take place and noted increase of violence against civilians in most parts of the country and urged the government to perform its constitutional duty to protect civilians.

“CEPO is urging the national parliament and council of states to urgently intervention on Pochalla county violence before it turn to genocide,” the statement signed by the organization’s Executive Director Edmund Yakani reads in part.

“The deadly violence in Pochalla and renewal of deadly violence between Twic Mayardit and Ngok Dinka including the recent killing of civilians in some of Yei River County are disturbing and worry at this moment,” it added.

Yakani said that “the on-going violence in Pochalla county of Greater Pibor Administrative Area is having less attention from Juba, just like other similar violence that happened in the past”.

He further urged Kiir and the parliament “to prevent violence against in civilians” across the country in Pochalla and Twic Mayardit and Ngok Dinka and other parts of the country.”