UN to send home peacekeepers for South Sudan inaction
June 23, 2016
Peacekeepers from Rwanda, Ethiopia and India are to be reprimanded for their handling of a bloody attack on a UN camp. Initial reports have blamed a lack of understanding about rules of engagement for the failure.
Image: picture-alliance/AP Photo/J. Patinkin
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The United Nations said on Thursday that it will recall some of its peacekeeping troops after they failed to respond properly to a violent attack on a base in South Sudan. Peacekeeping chief Herve Ladsous said a probe into the effectiveness of the soldiers found many "inadequacies" in their conduct.
The allegations stem from an attack on a UN camp sheltering some 48,000 people in the northeastern town of Malakal in February. Men in army uniforms wielding guns killed at least 30 people and wounded more than 120.
According to Human Rights Watch, the violence broke out when ethnic tensions between groups of youths inside the camp boiled over.
Ethiopian, Rwandan and Indian contingents of peacekeepers were on duty at the time.
UN 'failed in its duty'
"There was a lack of responsiveness by some, a lack of understanding of the rules of engagement by some," Ladsous said, but refused to publicly blame anyone specific, adding: "I will not name names but there will be repatriations of units and of individual officers."
UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric said the initial findings from the internal investigation suggested that "there was confusion with respect to command and control" and problems with recognizing civilian peacekeepers who were not in uniform.
Doctors Without Borders has also criticized the UN mission in Malakal, saying it had "failed in its duty to safeguard the people at the site and could have averted many fatalities."
As civil war continues to plague South Sudan, many refugees come to the UN camps not having had food or shelter for days, and rely on the aid and security offered there.
es/kms (AP, AFP)
60 years of war and peace in South Sudan: A photo timeline
South Sudan's rebel leader and vice president-designate, Riek Machar, is finally back in Juba. Many hope that his arrival will bring the country a step closer towards realizing the August 2015 peace agreement.
Image: AFP/Getty Images
South Sudan: Fought over since colonial era
For decades, what is now the Republic of South Sudan was officially part of the Republic of Sudan. The first secession war dates back to 1955, even before British colonialists handed over duties to the new government in Khartoum, with Christian South Sudanese fighting for more independence from the Arab north.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/Pendl
Lines get blurred
From 1972 to 1983, South Sudan enjoyed relative peace and autonomy before falling back into civil war. The Sudan People's Liberation Movement and Army (SPLM/A) took up the fight, led by John Garang. The group later splintered, with Salva Kiir and Riek Machar holding leading positions in different factions.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/Rosenthal
Free at last
In a January 2011 referendum, the South Sudanese people voted for independence. Salva Kiir and Riek Machar were named president and vice president respectively. The new state was based largely on a peace deal struck in 2005 under the auspices of Garang, who died in a helicopter crash weeks after the deal.
Image: AP
Taking up arms again
The alliance between the enemies-turned-colleagues didn't last long. In July 2013, two years after independence, Kiir dismissed Riek Machar and all other cabinet members. In December, he donned his military uniform for effect when addressing the media, accusing Machar and his allies of attempting a coup. It was the beginning of a civil war that continues to this day.
Image: Reuters
A deadly conflict
At least 50,000 people have died in the conflict, despite various attempts at ending it on different levels. 2.4 million people have been forced from their homes. In May 2014, the 14,000-strong UN mission to South Sudan was restructured to focus on the protection of civilians. Building the state no longer seemed a realistic goal to pursue.
Image: Reuters
Hopes shattered
Also in May 2015, a meeting of Kiir (far left) and Machar (far right) in Addis Ababa resulted in a ceasefire agreement that sparked hope for peace. Those hopes evaporated when new fighting erupted hours later. Subsequent agreements would be just as short-lived. Not only did the two leaders fail to agree, but observers commented they had long ago lost control over their respective fighters.
Image: Reuters
Opponents reunited
The latest peace agreement, signed in August 2015, had a rocky start. President Salva Kiir at first refused to sign but finally gave in to international pressure. Part of the deal was to guarantee Machar's return from his exile in Ethiopia. But there has been quarrelling over the number of fighters and weapons that could accompany him to Juba.
Image: Reuters/G. Tomasevic
The spoils of war
Meanwhile, the conflict has left the country in ruins. UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Said Raad al-Hussein, says in a report that both government troops and rebels use rape as a means of terror and warfare. The UN Security Council has decided to put in place a commission to investigate the violence.
