The Killing of Innocent Civilians along Juba-Nimule Highway is an act of Savagery! BY Ateny Wek Ateny
By: Ateny Wek Ateny
The resumption of killing of civilians along Nimule Highway by NAS or those affiliated to tribalistic rebellion, has proven how savagery and ignorant the attackers are. The killings of civilians cannot be justified whatsoever. NAS has time and again, opted to remain outside the Revitalized Agreement on the Resolution of Conflict in South Sudan, and also on Tumaini Peace Initiative in Kenya. It is no longer known as to what Gen. Thomas Cirilo Swaka is looking to achieve.
Targeting civilian transport is a serious criminal act and this does not seem to bludgeon government to succumb to Cirilo’s tribalist agenda. Sooner or later, Thomas Crilo would be declared the South Sudan’s Kony, and his organization would be the Lord Resistance’s Movement. The international community must consider this – the early the better.
The recent killings on Juba Nimule road are the worst to have happened along this road since 2020. The indiscriminate ambushing of purely civilian targets, with intention to kill and take the survivals as hostages, the worse act of crime against humanity. Imagine, a South Sudanese ambushing and killing his fellow civilians! To whom is NAS fighting to liberate now? Even this type of indoctrinate killings has failed tribalism. Traveling on road from Juba to Uganda or from Uganda to Juba entertains no tribe or religion. All those who can’t afford to travel by air uses the road including foreigners. So, why ambush a civilian bus and burn it to arches?
I thought Gen. Thomas Cirilio was one of the few better trained Generals, until I saw his NAS ambushing a civilian transport bus. Who authorized this and what for? Don’t they know that all our civilians are suffering from economic downturn manmade by the elites including those in the rebellion? Why killing them, when government has trained soldiers that are based in their barracks countrywide? Or is this, because the civilians are the softest targets? A coward is always a coward even when trained.
Notwithstanding, the killing of civilians has set a very bad precedent. Anyone with AK47 hiding in the grassland of our Savanah Forest can ambush and kill civilians at whim. So, is it because those who rebels eventually come back home with the agreement that brought them as our leaders? But, what if the families of the victims of the intentional targeting of civilians refuses this time to accept or endorse any agreement that brings in the perpetrators of intentional civilian killings into government? Gen. Thomas Crillio must bear this in mind. Otherwise, our civilians can’t just be the sacrificial lambs of those greedy politicians/generals. After all, there was no reasons for General Thomas to have rebelled in the first place. What is he is fighting for?
Finally, I urge the International Community, led by UN, EU, AU, Trioka, and all Regional Organizations to pressurize Thomas Crilio and his NAS to peacefully join Tumaini and sign peace agreement. Otherwise, he should be sanctioned or declared the Joseph Kony of South Sudan.
The writer is former Press Secretary in the Office of the President and the views expressed in this article are his own devoid of anybody’ views. He could be reached by email: atenypiokerwek@gmail.com
