The South Sudanese government says it is committed to setting up a court to put on trial perpetrators of atrocities in the country.
Juba is denying reports by the United Nations that there’s no political will in South Sudan to bring those people to book.
The UN had accused South Sudan and the African Union of not being committed to the institution of a court that tries perpetrators of atrocities in the world’s youngest nation.
The AU body in charge of monitoring the peace deal in South Sudan now says it wants the court to be established as soon as possible. It however says it is yet to receive the green light from the African Union.
In the meantime, fighting continues in South Sudan, and atrocities continue to be perpetrated.
The world’s youngest nation descended into violence in December 2013 after President Salva Kiir accused his then-deputy Riek Machar of plotting a coup against his government. Machar denied the allegations but then went on to mobilize a rebel force to fight the government.
A peace deal signed in 2015 has continually been violated by both sides.
The war has killed thousands of people and forced hundreds of thousands others to flee their homes.
The situation prompted the UN to declare South Sudan to be Africa’s biggest refugee crisis.
President Kiir last week led a national prayer day, calling for national dialogue to end the deadly war.
