In late April 2018, South Sudan government forces and their allied militias launched an offensive on Leer and Mayendit counties, in southern Unity state, which continued throughout May and June.
Based on interviews with around 100 displaced people from Leer and Mayendit, this briefing describes how government forces and their allied militias attacked villages in opposition-held areas of southern Unity state and committed crimes under international law and other serious human rights violations. During these attacks, both government forces and allied militias deliberately targeted and killed civilians, including women, children, the elderly, and people with disabilities. While many civilians were killed by gun fire, others were burned alive in their homes, hung from trees and rafters, or run over with armored vehicles. Civilians were also hunted down after fleeing into nearby wetlands, or rivers, as soldiers shot indiscriminately into areas where they were hiding and carried out attacks on islands where civilians had sought refuge.