(MENAFN- Kuwait News Agency (KUNA)) UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon strongly condemned in a statement escalation of hostilities in the past ten days between Sudan People's Liberation Army (SPLA) and SPLA in Opposition and their allied forces in Unity and Upper Nile States.
Ban is "appalled," his press office said in a statement, by reports of human rights violations committed by the SPLA and their allied forces, including the burning of villages, and the killing and rape of civilians, in the course of their military operations in Unity State.
He also deplored death of four internally displaced persons (IDPs) caught in crossfire in the protection of civilians site within the UN Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS) compound in Melut, the statement added.
Moreover, the UN chief demanded that immediate national investigations be conducted so that those responsible for these crimes are held accountable by their respective leadership.
"The fighting is unacceptable," the UN chief underscored.
It is part of a series of violations of the Cessation of Hostilities Agreement signed by the parties on January 23, 2014 and undermined the ongoing Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD) efforts to find a political solution to the conflict in South Sudan.
Nevertheless, Ban called upon President Salva Kiir and former Vice President Riek Machar to "immediately cease all military operations and reminded them of their obligations to protect civilians under international human rights and humanitarian law." He reminded the parties that they must respect the inviolability of UNMISS premises, including protection of civilian sites, which are now host to more than 120,000 IDPs.(end)
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