Soldiers torture 5 Bentiu IDP camp youths for allegedly supporting governor’s removal

The head of the peace committee in the Bentiu Internally Displaced People’s camp in Unity State, South Sudan, has said that soldiers raided the camp on Thursday night and kidnapped and later tortured 5 youths for allegedly supporting attempts to remove the state’s governor.

Yohannes Gatnyang told Radio Tamazuj Friday that the heavily armed security forces came to the camp in two Toyota Landcruiser pickups, kidnapped the five youths, and drove away with them to an unknown location. He however said the kidnaped youths were rescued on Friday after the intervention of the UN but that they had been tortured.

Gatnyang identified the five tortured youth as Garjou Tap Dual, Gatluak Majok, Machiek Marol, Gatluak Paul, and Jar Yoak.

He said the security forces told them that the reason for the arrest of the youths was their support for the withdrawal of confidence in Governor Joseph Manytuil by the upper house of the national parliament-the Council of States in Juba.

“The young men were rescued on Friday morning after the intervention of the UNMISS’ Human Rights Department,” he said. “The young men were subjected to torture and one of them is in critical condition and is receiving treatment at the MSF hospital.”

Another camp official who preferred anonymity for fear of reprisals confirmed the kidnap and torture of the five youths by the state security apparatus for allegedly supporting the removal of the Unity State governor.

“The head of the youth forum in the camp supported the recommendation of the Council of States to withdraw confidence,” he said.

Meanwhile, John Jal, one of the young men who was tortured, said the security forces stormed his house in the night, handcuffed him, and threw him onto the bed of a pickup before driving him away.

“They asked us about one of the youths in the camp and told us that if we did not reveal his whereabouts, they would kill us because we are from the Panyijar area and that we hate and want to remove the current governor,” he said. “I told them I do not even know the person they were looking for. We were taken to the state security advisor’s office, interrogated, tortured, and released.”

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Jal said he was speaking to Radio Tamazuj from the hospital where he is receiving treatment.