The United Nations said barrel bombs believed to contain highly flammable liquids have been used in air strikes in South Sudan as escalating violence pushes the world’s latest country to the brink of another civil war.
Nicholas Haysom, the head of the United Nations mission in South Sudan, fought between the army and the rebel militia, known as the White Army, at the military base in the north of Nasir, on the Nile on the Nile.
He said there has been ongoing air bombing since the White Army occupied the base, causing “significant casualties and terrible burns.”
“The conflict will eliminate all the hard victory since the signing of the 2018 peace agreement,” he warned.
“It will not only destroy South Sudan, but also the entire region, which simply cannot afford another war,” Hesom said.
The government has not responded to the barrel bomb allegations.
President Salva Kiir and his rival Vice President Riek Machar agreed to end a five-year civil war in August 2018, killing nearly 400,000 people.
But over the past seven years, their relationship has become increasingly tense due to racial tensions and sporadic violence.
In early March, several of Machar’s senior allies were arrested by security forces, which his allies called “serious violations of the peace agreement.”
This was after the conflict between the army fighting side by side with Machar during the Civil War in 2013 – and the country soon left Sudan.
“In retaliation, the community on the Upper Nile was using equipment, and barrel bombs continued to be bombed in the air, allegedly containing a highly flammable liquid that acts as an accelerator for the explosion,” Mr Haysom said.
“These indistinguishable attacks on civilians have caused significant casualties and horrible injuries, especially burns.”
The allegations were first filed by local leaders in the Upper Nile last week.
Nasir County Commissioner James Gatluak Lew told the BBC that the state forces and their allies carried out a “chemical bombing.”
Local media reported that ethyl acetate is a highly flammable compound found at the attack site.
In an earlier interview with the BBC, Edmund Yakani, head of the local NGO, said he had heard similar reports.
He said witnesses, including local community leaders and business informants, told his community that empower the Progressive Organization (CEPO) to understand “abnormal weapons.”
Government spokesman Michael Makuei confirmed last week that a military operation was conducted in the Upper Nile last week, insisting that “bombing strictly opposes the posts of the white army and does not harm civilians.”
But Mr. Hersom said civilians, including women and children, were greatly affected, with an estimated 63,000 people forced to flee their homes.
He added that the violence is escalating as the country is getting closer to elections next year.
“Rampant misinformation, false information and hate speech are also increasing tensions and promoting racial division and fear,” he said.
Mr Haysom added that the United Nations mandate oversees 18,000 peacekeepers in South Sudan, was engaging in intense shuttle diplomacy to prevent a return to the civil war.
Meanwhile, Machar accused neighboring Uganda of violating the UN embargo in South Sudan by carrying out air strikes in the country.
Machar said in a letter from Reuters News Agency, the African Union and regional group Igad that Uganda’s military intervention in South Sudan violated the peace agreement.
It said: “Ugandan troops are currently conducting air strikes on civilians in Nasir County, Upper Nile Prefecture, and Uran County and Akobo County in Zhengguo Prefecture.”
Earlier this month, Uganda said it had deployed its troops to South Sudan at the request of President Kiel’s government, although Juba denied that.
Other reports from Ashley Lime of the BBC and Akisa Wandera.
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