Cell punishment soldiers South Sudan after hotel attack

juba - A court in South Sudan sentenced ten soldiers of that country to prison sentences for the rape of foreign aid workers and the murder of a local journalist in 2016. The prison sentences range from seven years to life imprisonment.

The offenses took place in a hotel in the capital Juba. During fighting between soldiers of President Salva Kiir and supporters of former vice president Riek Machar, South Sudanese soldiers attacked the hotel. There, civilians, including Western aid workers, were abused and raped. Among the victims would also be a Dutch one.

The South Sudanese government has declared on Thursday that it will give compensation to victims.

According to eyewitnesses, fifty to one hundred soldiers attacked the hotel. Five women working for humanitarian organizations were raped. Victims called to a base of UN troops nearby and asked for help but it did not work out. The military head of the UN peacekeeping mission was fired after the incident.