US sanctions two more South Sudanese rival commanders
Article
Comments (2)
email Email
print Print
pdfSave
separation
increase
decrease
separation
separation
facebook
myspace
twitter
buzzyahoo
July 3, 2015 (NEW YORK) - The United States (US) Department of the
Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) on Friday
designated for sanctions South Sudanese military commander General
Gabriel Jok Riak and armed opposition commander General Simon Gatwech
Dual.
JPEG - 18.2 kb
Soldiers from the South Sudanese army (SPLA) disembark from a pick-up
truck in Unity state capital Bentiu on 12 January 2014 (Photo:
Reuters/Andreea Campeanu)
In the statement, US said the move was in accordance with the
executive order (E.O.) 13664, authorizing the department to sanction
South Sudanese individuals responsible for threatening peace,
security, or stability of South Sudan and for expanding or extending
the conflict or obstructing peace talks or processes in South Sudan.
The action followed on Wednesday’s listing by the United Nations (UN)
of Gabriel Jok Riak, Simon Gatwech Dual, and four other individuals
previously designated by OFAC – including Generals Peter Gatdet Yak,
Marial Chanuong Yol Mangok, James Koang Chuol, and Santino Deng Wol –
under UN Security Council Resolution 2206.
“These two individuals [Riak and Dual] are also being designated for
being leaders of groups whose members are involved in sanctionable
activities,” partly reads the US order.
“As leaders of opposing groups in South Sudan, both Gabriel Jok Riak
and Simon Gatwech Dual are responsible for perpetrating violence and
breaching ceasefire agreements,” said Acting OFAC Director John E.
Smith.
“Today’s action taken in coordination with our international partners
underscores that the United States strongly condemns anyone, on either
side of the conflict, who exacerbates the ongoing conflict in South
Sudan, and we will work to thwart anyone who helps fuel violence in
the region,” he said.
The US order says Riak “has been designated for engaging in actions
that expand or extend the conflict in South Sudan, or obstructed peace
talks or processes, and for being a leader of forces who also engaged
in actions that expand or extend the conflict in South Sudan, or
obstructed peace talks or processes.”
As the commander of Sector One of the South Sudanese military, known
as the Sudan People’s Liberation Army (SPLA), that operates primarily
within Unity State, a province in South Sudan, and consists of SPLA
Divisions Three, Four, and Five.
Riak reportedly assisted in arming and mobilizing as many as 1,000
youths to supplement traditional SPLA forces, and he has reportedly
sought to have tanks repaired and modified for use against SPLA-IO
forces allied to former vice-president, Riek Machar.
In late 2014, heavy weapons and thousands of troops were brought into
or redeployed within Sector One’s area of responsibility to combat the
SPLA-IO.
Since late April 2015, SPLA forces under Riak’s command in Sector One
had been reportedly conducting a full-scale offensive against SPLA-IO
forces in violation of multiple ceasefire agreements’ requirements to
protect civilians and prohibitions on military operations.
“This offensive has reportedly resulted in targeted violence against
civilians, grave human rights abuses, and destruction of villages,
leading to the displacement of more than 100,000 people,” it said.
Additionally, the SPLA has reportedly denied freedom of movement to an
international monitoring team based in Bentiu – an action, the report
said, also constituted a violation of the various ceasefire
agreements.
As commander of Sector One, Riak “is responsible” for both the ongoing
SPLA offensive and the denial of freedom of movement to the Bentiu
monitoring team in Unity State, it says.
Dual has been designated for engaging in actions that threaten the
peace, security, or stability of South Sudan, and for being a leader
of forces that have also engaged in actions that threaten the peace,
security, or stability of South Sudan and targeted civilians,
including women and children, through acts of violence.
Dual who is the SPLA-IO’s chief of general staff and was previously
its commander for Jonglei state. In late April 2014, forces under his
command engaged in an offensive in Jonglei state and advanced on Bor,
Jonglei’s capital.
In early 2015, Dual was reportedly responsible for an attack in
Jonglei state, and as of March 2015, he allegedly tried to destroy the
peace in the state through attacks on the civilian population.
In late April 2015, Dual was reportedly involved in planning and
coordinating surprise attacks against South Sudanese government forces
in Upper Nile state. He allegedly ordered units under his command to
kill prisoners of war, women, and children.
US president, Barack Obama, signed executive order 13664 on 3 April,
2014 to address the cycle of violence that has claimed thousands of
lives in South Sudan since December 2013.
This executive order authorizes Treasury to impose sanctions on those
who threaten the peace, security, or stability of South Sudan,
obstruct the peace process, target peacekeepers, or are responsible
for human rights abuses or other atrocities in South Sudan.
Friday’s action was the third time OFAC has sanctioned individuals
under the executive order 13664, and the first time such action has
been coordinated with UN sanctions listings.
The order directed all US citizens anywhere in the world that they
were generally prohibited from engaging in any transactions with Riak
and Dual, and any assets of these persons that are subject to US
jurisdiction were therefore frozen.
(ST)
Comments on the Sudan Tribune website must abide by the following
rules. Contravention of these rules will lead to the user losing their
Sudan Tribune account with immediate effect.
- No inciting violence
- No inappropriate or offensive language
- No racism, tribalism or sectarianism
- No inappropriate or derogatory remarks
- No deviation from the topic of the article
- No advertising, spamming or links
- No incomprehensible comments
Due to the unprecedented amount of racist and offensive language on
the site, Sudan Tribune tries to vet all comments on the site.
There is now also a limit of 400 words per comment. If you want to
express yourself in more detail than this allows, please e-mail your
comment as an article to [email protected]
Kind regards,
The Sudan Tribune editorial team.
5 July 10:22, by Rami Tot
US is blind or double agent on the south Sudan issues?
i am being hearing sanctions from them but never calls for arrest
warrant to those who kills innocents in Juba and bentiu why i am
doubting they have not identify them yet or will target wrong people
there is conspiracy from US to some tribes in south Sudan
repondre message
5 July 12:27, by Stephen kuach
Just accept the peace both of you government and
rebels,otherwise your country S.Sudan shall be taken by other nations
infront of you in a broad daylight and nothing you can do,these
nations are warning you to stop the war in which you’re slaughtering
your own people,or you may end up losing the whole S.Sudan.
--
To post to this group, send email to [email protected]
To unsubscribe from this group, send email to
[email protected]
Visit this group at https://groups.google.com/d/forum/southsudankob
View this message at
https://groups.google.com/d/msg/southsudankob/topic-id/message-id
For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout
---
You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups
"South Sudan Info - The Kob" group.
To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email
to [email protected].
To post to this group, send email to [email protected].
Visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/SouthSudanKob.
To view this discussion on the web visit
https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/SouthSudanKob/CAJb14oragxXGYsfe6hgtmWLf6oBTf5X-953irPnY-_xFbFtTcg%40mail.gmail.com.
For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout.
