SOUTH SUDAN officials have broken human rights laws and should be held accountable for their crimes, according to a United Nations panel of investigators.

Unity state governor Joseph Monytuil is accused of being responsible for gross violations of human rights, as are other senior government and military officials, in Monday’s report by the UN Commission on Human Rights in South Sudan.

Lieutenant General Thoi Chany Reat of South Sudan People’s Defence Forces is among individuals warranting criminal investigation over state-sanctioned extrajudicial killings carried out in Mayom county in August 2022, the report says.

Koch county commissioner Gordon Koang is also mentioned in the report, which accuses him of playing a role in attacks on civilians in the town of Leer in February and April last year.

The officials were not immediately available for comment.

The UN experts’ report says that South Sudan, the world’s newest nation, must tackle “impunity” to stem persistent violence and human rights abuses.

Commission head Yasmin Sooka said: “Over several years, our findings have consistently shown that impunity for serious crimes is a central driver of violence and misery faced by civilians in South Sudan.

“So we have taken the step of naming more of the individuals who warrant criminal investigation and prosecution for their role in gross human rights violations.”

Meanwhile, South Sudan dispatched an additional 300 soldiers to the neighbouring Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) on Monday, under the banner of an east African regional force fighting the M23 rebel group.

This brought the total number of South Sudanese troops in the country to over 1,000, according to Defence Minister General Chol Thon Balok.

South Sudan is the latest country to join the seven-nation regional force created in June last year to try to stabilise the eastern DRC.