9 April 2013 – Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, his Special Representative in South Sudan, Hilde F. Johnson, and the United Nations Security Council today strongly condemned the killing of at least 12 people working with the UN peacekeeping mission in Jonglei State.
“The Secretary-General is appalled by the attack,” his
spokesperson said in a statement. “He
condemns in the strongest terms the killing of five Indian peacekeepers and two
UNMISS (UN Mission in South Sudan) national staff and five civilian staff
contractors.”
Mr. Ban “recalls that the killing of peacekeepers is a war
crime that falls under the jurisdiction of the International Criminal Court,”
the spokesperson said
“He calls on the Government of South Sudan to bring the
perpetrators of this crime to justice,” the statement continued.
In their separate statements, Mr. Ban and Ms. Johnson
expressed their deepest condolences to the families of the peacekeepers,
colleagues and civilians killed in the attack, as well as the Governments of
India and South Sudan.
“At least nine additional peacekeepers and accompanying
civilians were injured, and some remain unaccounted for,” according to the
latest information from
UNMISS.
The Department of Peacekeeping Operations (DPKO) in New York
said about 30 peacekeepers were escorting a civilian convoy when they were
ambushed by some 200 armed, unidentified men near the settlement of Gumuruk in
Jonglei.
A firefight erupted as the Indian peacekeepers tried to
protect the civilians. The Indian peacekeepers “fought courageously,” DPKO
said, adding that the attack was “a deliberate targeting of the United
Nations.”
Speaking from Juba, Ms. Johnson said the UN Mission remains
resolute in assisting the people of South Sudan, “This attack will not deter
UNMISS and its peacekeepers from working to protect vulnerable communities in
South Sudan.”
“UNMISS is determined to continue its work in supporting
authorities ensure peace,” she added.
In a press statement read out on behalf of the 15-member
Security Council, Ambassador Eugène-Richard Gasana of Rwanda, which holds the
rotating presidency of the UN body for the month of April, reiterated “full
support to UNMISS and the troop contributing countries” in South Sudan.
The UN has been increasingly vocal in recent weeks about the
need for increased protection of civilians in Jonglei state.
South Sudan faces considerable security challenges, in
particular, in Jonglei state and the tri-state area of Lakes, Warrap and Unity.
Last week, the UN mission released its findings into a probe
of a cattle raid on an 8 February attack near Walgak in West Akobo in which at
least at least 85 cattle herders, mostly women and children, were killed.
According to a Spokesperson for the Office of the UN High
Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), the UNMISS
investigation found that a group of armed men, allegedly members of the Murle
community, attacked the Lou Nuer pastoralists as they were migrating to grazing
areas.
The OHCHR Spokesperson called on the South Sudanese
authorities to immediately launch an investigation into this gruesome attack
and bring the perpetrators to justice in order to end the cycle of violence and
prevailing impunity.
UNMISS said the attack represented the highest single loss
of life since an increase in inter-communal violence began several months ago.
Speaking to journalists yesterday in Juba, Ms. Johnson had
urged the Government and the local communities to break the deadly cycle of
violence spurred by inter-communal violence and attacks by armed groups, “The
destabilization of Jonglei must stop.”
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