Coletta Wanjohi, Press TV
March 8, 2014 (Addis Ababa) — Since December 2013, an armed conflict continues between the government of South Sudan forces and a rebel faction led by former vice president Riek Machar. With this armed power struggle between the two parties, innocent civilians have suffered the most
Humanitarian agencies report that just in the past two months, over 10,000 people have lost their lives and over 700,000 have forced to leave their homes.
The numbers are expected to rise as more fighting continues to be reported. Now the African Union has set up a commission of inquiry to investigate the continuation of violations of human rights in South Sudan and has set up a commission of inquiry.
The mandate of the commission was endorsed by heads of African states during their meeting in Gambia on December 30th last year. The commission will be headed by former Nigerian president Olusegun Obasanjo. It will include a judge in charge of the African Court of Human Rights, a member from the African human rights Commission, a representative of the civil society and an expert in gender issues.
The commission of inquiry will be expected to give progress report within three months. This will be presented to African Heads of state, who will then decide how to stop further human rights abuse in South Sudan.
