Two international rights watchdogs said authorities failed to carry out adequate investigations into the killing of eight peaceful protesters last December in Wau by security forces.
Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch called on Friday for full and impartial investigations for Wau deaths.On December 9, security forces opened fire on a peaceful protest, killing six people on the spot. Two more protesters died later in a hospital.
The protest was triggered by the killing of two men during an outbreak of violence between youth and security forces the evening before.
Africa director at Human Rights Watch Daniel Bekele said “eight peaceful protesters are dead in South Sudan at the hands of security forces and apparently no one has been charged or prosecuted five months later.”
He added that this sets a bad precedent for a new country and undermines freedom of expression and peaceful assembly across South Sudan.
Western Bahr el Ghazal Governor Rizig Zakaria Hassan told Human Rights Watch in May that police shot the protesters while defending the nearby South Sudan Bank against “rioters.”
However, witnesses told Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch that protesters marched peacefully past the bank, and their account was corroborated by video footage.
A doctor who saw the bodies after the protest said that the eight people killed were all shot in the head or in the chest.
The identities of the forces responsible for the killings remain unclear.
Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International urged authorities to ensure full, effective and impartial investigations leading to the prosecution of those responsible for these killings and for a number of other deaths during the civil unrest in Wau.