10 South Sudan soldiers convicted of rape, murder in deadly 2016 hotel raid

Also Read: South Sudan most dangerous place for aid workers – report

A local journalist was killed and five international foreign aid workers were gang raped when a group of 50 to 100 soldiers stormed the Terrain Hotel in July 2016, the hotel’s manager said in a testimony.

The victims say they called U.N. peacekeepers stationed near the hotel and pleaded for help, but none came. The Kenyan military officer in command of the mission was dismissed.

An American aid worker was also shot and wounded during the siege.

The South Sudan soldiers were sentenced to between seven years and life in prison by a military judge Thursday.

Another soldier who was facing the same charges was acquitted due to a lack of evidence. The 12th soldier charged in the raid died in custody.

The military judge also ordered the government to pay $4,000 (Ksh.4million) in restitution to the each of the rape victims, and over $2 million (Ksh.200million) to the hotel’s owners.

South Sudan has been plagued by civil war since 2013 as a result of a power struggle between President Salva Kiir and his former deputy Riek Machar.

Tens of thousands of people have been killed and more than 4 million South Sudanese driven from their homes, with at least 2 million fleeing the country.