Yei River County | Credit | Karte: NordNordWest, Lizenz: Creative Commons

A member of parliament representing Yei River County at the national legislature has condemned an alleged gang-rape of women and girls by “our brothers” in uniform in the area recently.

According to Hon Paul Yoane, 19 women were raped by soldiers between March and April 2020.

“I was informed that in March, several women were raped in the hands of our brothers who are holding guns,” he said on Monday.

The crimes, Hon Yoane told Eye Radio, took place in Lasu, Otugo, Rubeke and Libogo areas.

“A woman was gang-raped by two gunmen in uniform together with her daughter,” he revealed.

Hon Yoane called on relevant authorities to take punitive measures against the perpetrators.

In the defunct Yei River state, a women’s group leader stated last year that nearly 40 cases of rape have been registered in four counties of the State.

Civilians in Yei River have continued to bear the brunt of violence between government troops and forces belonging to the armed opposition, NAS.

In 2019, the Joint Monitoring and Evaluation Commission stated that sexual and gender-based violence including rape, abductions and conscription of child soldiers in South Sudan increased in the past years.