In accordance with paragraph 18(e) of resolution 2206 (2015), the Security Council Committee established pursuant to resolution 2206 (2015) concerning South Sudan makes accessible a narrative summary of reasons for the listing for individuals and entities included in the sanctions list.
James Koang Chuol (Koang) was listed on 1 July 2015 pursuant to paragraphs 6, 7 (a), 7 (d) and 8 of resolution 2206 (2015) as, “responsible for or complicit in, or having engaged in, directly or indirectly, actions or policies that threaten the peace, security or stability of South Sudan”; “actions or policies that have the purpose or effect of expanding or extending the conflict in South Sudan or obstructing reconciliation or peace talks or processes, including breaches of the Cessation of Hostilities Agreement”; “targeting of civilians, including women and children, through the commission of acts of violence (including killing, maiming, torture, or rape or other sexual violence), abduction, enforced disappearance, forced displacement, or attacks on schools, hospitals, religious sites, or locations where civilians are seeking refuge, or through conduct that would constitute a serious abuse or violation of human rights or a violation of international humanitarian law”; and as a leader “of any entity, including any South Sudanese government, opposition, militia, or other group, that has, or whose members have, engaged in any of the activities described in paragraphs 6 and 7”.
James Koang Chuol (Koang) has threatened the peace, security, or stability of South Sudan in his position as a leader of anti-government forces in Unity State, South Sudan, whose members targeted civilians, including women and children, with killing, sexual violence, and committed attacks on schools, hospitals, religious sites, and locations where civilians were seeking refuge.
Koang defected from his position as the Sudan People’s Liberation Army (SPLA) Fourth Division commander in December 2013. Taking orders from Koang, defecting soldiers executed as many as 260 of their on-base counterparts before targeting and killing civilians in the state capital of Bentiu.
Koang was appointed commander of the Sudan People’s Liberation Army in Opposition (SPLA-IO) Special Division in December 2014. In his new position, Koang led attacks on government forces in Upper Nile State’s Renk and Maban counties in January 2015 that were cited by the Intergovernmental Authority on Development Monitoring and Verification Mechanism as violations of the CoHA.
In February 2014, after Koang was given command of anti-government forces in Unity State, those forces attacked United Nations camps, hospitals, churches, and schools, engaging in widespread rape, torture, and the destruction of property, in an attempt to flush out civilians, soldiers, and policemen allied with the government. On April 14-15, 2014, Koang’s forces captured Bentiu after heavy fighting and engaged in attacks against civilians. In separate incidents at a Bentiu mosque, church, and abandoned food compound, forces separated civilians who were taking shelter by their ethnicity and nationality before engaging in targeted killings, leaving at least 200 dead and 400 wounded. In mid-September 2014, Koang reportedly ordered his forces to target Dinka civilians during an attack in Upper Nile State.