The office of the UN Human Rights Commissioner says South Sudan risks being divided further into militia groups due to excessive use of military force by the government to address insecurity in the country.

The statement was made by the Assistant Secretary-General for Human Rights, Ivan Šimonović, in an address to the UN Security Council on the situation in South Sudan.

Currently, several militia groups have risen against the government.

These include the Arrow Boys, in the Western Equatoria region, the militia group loyal to General Yoanis Okich in the Upper Nile region, among others.

In his statement to the council, Mr Šimonović said it is against this background that South Sudan faces the risk of fragmentation and related human rights violations.

“The reconciliatory rhetoric propagated by government and opposition actors has deflected from the fact that the parties to the conflict continue to attack, kill, abduct, rape, arbitrarily detain, and forcefully displace civilians, and pillage and destroy their property,” partly read the statement.

Mr Šimonović said that there are increasing numbers of armed defense groups that have emerged in response to the government’s highly militarized approach to addressing insecurity.

He noted that there is widespread armed conflict in all parts of the country, and creation of local armed groups fighting against government troops.

Eye Radio’s attempt to get the government spokesperson Michael Makuei Lueth to comment on the matter was unsuccessful.