Our colleagues in the Office of Public Witness invite us to join a call for action on South Sudan:
Rep. Frank Wolf (R., Va.) is calling on the Obama administration to send former Presidents George W. Bush and Bill Clinton to South Sudan to help end mass ethnic violence. Please contact President Obama and urge him to support Rep. Wolf’s call and appoint the former presidents to help bring about a negotiated settlement and an end to the violence engulfing South Sudan.
The conflict is ominously similar to the Rwandan genocide 20 years ago. Thousands have died in the conflict between the Dinka tribe and rebel forces composed of former Nuer people. Rebel fighters have been urged to rape women of specific ethnicities and attack those seeking refuge in hospitals, mosques, and churches. Residents in the ethnic Dinka town of Bor recently killed dozens of Nuer people taking shelter at a United Nations base. U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry has warned of a possible genocide in South Sudan.
Please contact President Obama and urge him to appoint former Presidents George W. Bush and Bill Clinton to help negotiate a lasting peace in South Sudan. Urge him to act for the people of South Sudan.
This alert is based on a similar call from the Sudan Advocacy Action Forum.