[JURIST] South Sudan government troops are committing human rights abuses [press release], such as abusing civilians and lighting villages on fire amid ongoing fighting in the region, Amnesty International (AI) [advocacy website] reported Thursday. AI has also received reports that South Sudan government troops have committed other atrocities while dressed in civilian clothing such as attacking villages with axes, guns and machetes. Many aid groups have recently pulled out their staff [Al Jazeera report] due to safety concerns as fighting intensifies. It is estimated that seven civilians have been killed as a result of the intense fighting, and approximately 20,000 civilians have been displaced.

The South Sudanese Civil War [JURIST backgrounder; BBC report] has persisted since December 2013 when President Salva Kiir Mayardit accused his ex-vice-president, Riek Machar [Al Jazeera profile], of plotting to overthrow him. In late March, South Sudan’s National Legislative Assembly [official website] voted to extend Kiir’s term by three years following the cancellation of elections that were to be held in June, and the dissolution of negotiations to end the country’s internal conflict. Earlier in March UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon [official website] urged [JURIST report] Kiir and Machar to end the hostilities and comply with international law to avoid sanctions. In late February UNICEF condemned [JURIST report] the abduction of young boys by an armed group in South Sudan. In early February Human Rights Watch reported that both parties in the conflict are recruiting children [JURIST report], with close to 600 child soldiers being used since the beginning of the conflict. Earlier in February the UN reported continued rights violations [JURIST report] just when the groups were on the brink of signing a peace deal. In January the UN reported attacks [JURIST report] on civilians based on ethnicity and political beliefs in Sudan that amounted to several war crimes.