South Sudan peace monitors urge gov’t to probe killing of 27 farmers in Kajo-Keji

JUBA, FEBRUARY 7^TH 2023 (SUDANS POST) – The Reconstituted Joint Monitoring and Evaluation Commission (RJMEC) on Tuesday called on the government to probe last week the killing of 27 farmers in Koj-Keji County of Central Equatoria State.

In a statement issued on Tuesday, the peace urged the government to arrest and bring to justice the attackers who killed civilians on the eve of the historic visit of the Pope and two other top clerics.

“RJMEC urges the Revitalised Transitional Government of National Unity (RTGoNU) to investigate, and to hold perpetrators accountable,” it said.

It said the violence and displacement of civilians are “unacceptable.”

“The violence and displacement of civilians are unacceptable, particularly when the strong hope of the people of South Sudan is that the messages of peace delivered by the Ecumenical Peace Pilgrimage will inspire the implementation of the Revitalised Peace Agreement at greater pace and scale.”

It said the events in Kajo-Keji fit into a larger and very concerning picture of violence at the subnational level across South Sudan.

“There is a very serious picture of escalating violence, negatively impacting the environment in which the R-ARCSS is being implemented. RJMEC, therefore, appeals to the Parties involved and the RTGoNU to address the root causes of these armed conflicts and find lasting solutions to resolve them and ensure accountability for crimes committed.”

Suspected cattle herders from Jonglei state killed at least 21 civilians in Kajo-Keji county in Central Equatoria state on Thursday.

The next day Pope Francis, Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby, and Moderator of the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church of Scotland Iain Greenshields began a joint ecumenical peace pilgrimage to South Sudan.

The death toll from the Kajo-Keji incident has risen to 27 with “countless numbers” injured, according to the UN peacekeeping Mission in South Sudan (Unmiss).

Also, 2,000 people, including 30 unaccompanied children, were forced to feel from their homes, UN Peacekeeping Mission said.

Among those killed were four volunteers from the South Sudan Red Cross Society, who were stationed in the area conducting Ebola awareness work following the recent outbreak of the deadly disease in neighboring Uganda.