WASHINGTON—Representative Eliot L. Engel, Ranking Member of the House Committee on Foreign Affairs, today made the following statement:

“Five years ago today, a political dispute between President Salva Kiir and his former Vice President Riek Machar descended into an all-out civil war. Since then, four million people have been displaced and more than 400,000 people have died as a result of the conflict. With parts of South Sudan enduring a man-made famine in 2017, more than five million people face life-threatening food insecurity in 2019. The human-rights abuses perpetrated during this conflict have been shocking, to say the least. Nearly 19,000 child soldiers have been recruited by armed groups. The use of rape as a weapon of war has been persistent – most recently in late November, when 150 women and girls were raped and beaten while trying to reach a food distribution site.

“A revitalized peace agreement signed in September could offer an end to this misery for the people of South Sudan. Warring parties must cease all remaining hostilities, immediately remove barriers to humanitarian access, and hold those responsible for human rights abuses accountable.”

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