JUBA
The United Nations has expressed deep concerns over what it described as mounting evidence of grave human rights violations and extra-judicial killings of civilians and captured soldiers in strife-torn South Sudan.
"I condemn in the strongest possible terms the atrocities committed against innocent civilians of different communities by elements from both sides during the crisis," Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon’s Special Representative and head of the UN Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS) Hilde Johnson said in a statement.
"There is no excuse for these terrible acts of violence. All perpetrators must be held accountable," he asserted.
South Sudan, the world's newest nation, has found itself in troubled waters over the last three weeks after fighting erupted in capital Juba.
The crisis broke out when President Salva Kiir accused sacked vice-president Riek Machar of staging a coup attempt against his regime.
A subsequent government crackdown landed many of Machar's supporters in jail, but the former VP managed to flee to Jonglei State, a stronghold of his Nuer tribe.
More than 1,000 people have been killed in the unrest and close to 150,000 displaced.
UNMISS confirmed the discovery of large numbers of bodies in the capital Juba along with other areas most hit by crisis, including the Upper Nile and Jonglei states.
"Available evidence indicates that atrocities are continuing to occur in various parts of South Sudan," the mission said.
"Many of these violations appear to be ethnically targeted. Most of the more brutal atrocities are reported to have been carried out by people wearing uniform."
The UN mission called on all warring parties to immediately halt violence and open talks for a peaceful resolution.
"The leaders of all sides have a historic responsibility to the future and people of this young country," it said.
The Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD) confirmed on Tuesday that Kiir and Machar had agreed to cease hostilities and engage in talks aimed at ending the crisis.
Regional heads of state who met in Nairobi on December 27 had issued a December 31 deadline for the two warring parties to agree to a ceasefire.
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