UN condemns execution of 4 rebels in South Sudan

The United Nations Mission in South Sudan said today, Wednesday, that it is deeply concerned about the reported execution of four rebels in the north of the country on the seventh of August.

South Sudan plunged into civil war shortly after declaring independence from Sudan in 2011, plunging the country into a cycle of violence and chaos.

A peace agreement signed three years ago is still largely in place, but the transitional government has been slow to unite the multiple factions of the armed forces into a single unit, write a new constitution and pave the way for elections.

The United Nations said the executions were in response to an attack by the South Sudan People's Movement/South Sudan People's Army on July 22 on the Mayom County Commissioner.

"Anyone suspected of a crime must be tried...within a fair judicial process," the head of the UN mission said in a statement.

Lul Ruai, a spokesman for the South Sudan People's Defense Forces, said the army had launched an investigation into the killings, which he said were recorded in a video clip.

A video clip on social media showed five men in combat fatigues shooting three masked men sitting on the ground.

In a statement, Roy said three men were shot dead, while a fourth was tied up and burned alive in a thatched hut.

"There are allegations that the men were killed by elements of the South Sudan People's Defense Forces," he added.

Luke Gatik, a spokesman for the South Sudan People's Movement/South Sudan People's Army, said in a statement that the men were arrested across the border in Sudan on August 6 before being handed over to the South Sudanese authorities.

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