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2nd LD Writethru: UN chief slams attack on South Sudanese civilians in UN Mission site

Xinhua, July 2, 2015 Adjust font size:

UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon on Wednesday condemned an attack on a UN Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS) protection-of-civilians site in Malakal by opposition forces, which killed one Internally Displaced Person (IDP) and injured six others.

The secretary-general deplored the killing and injuring of the IDPs as a result of the attack, said a statement issued by Ban's spokesman.

"The secretary-general calls on former Vice President Riek Machar and Johnson Olony, commander of opposition forces, to conduct an immediate investigation into this incident and hold to account those responsible," the statement said.

He urged the parties to respect the inviolability of UNMISS premises, including protection of civilian sites, which are now host to more than 140,000 IDPs.

Ban reiterated that "there is no military solution to the conflict in South Sudan" and called on all parties to immediately cease the hostilities and make the necessary compromises to urgently conclude the negotiations facilitated by the Inter-Governmental Authority on Development (IGAD)."

He expressed his condolences to the bereaved family and wished speedy recovery to those wounded in this attack, the statement added.

Earlier, UNMISS condemned in the strongest possible terms the fatal shooting Wednesday evening of an internally displaced person (IDP) inside the Mission's protection-of-civilians site at its compound outside Malakal.

The Mission has received information that three members of forces belonging to either the Sudan People's Liberation Army In Opposition or the allied militia led by General Johnson Olony who are currently controlling the Upper Nile state capital opened fire on IDPs at a recently opened protection-of-civilians site in the UNMISS compound on Wednesday.

The exact circumstances surrounding the shooting incident remain unclear, the Mission said. But any attack on a protection-of-civilians site constitutes a direct assault against the United Nations and may constitute a war crime.

This is not the first time that an UNMISS protection-of-civilians site has come under attack by armed elements in South Sudan, and such indefensible actions will compromise the Mission's ability to implement its mandate if they continue to go unpunished.

UNMISS peacekeepers returned fire against the assailants, and have been engaging with senior commanders of armed opposition forces in a bid to identify the perpetrators of this unprovoked attack among their own ranks.

South Sudan plunged into violence in December 2013, when fighting erupted between troops loyal to President Salva Kiir and defectors led by his former deputy Riek Machar.

The conflict soon turned into an all-out war, with the violence taking on an ethnic dimension that pitted the president's Dinka tribe against Machar's Nuer ethnic group.

The clashes have left thousands of South Sudanese dead and forced around 1.9 million people to flee their homes. Endi