The Telegraph 19 Apr 2014
Deadly attack on South Sudan base may be considered a 'war crime'
UN security Council expresses outrage over attack on one of their bases in
South Sudan where civilians were sheltering which saw at least 58 people
killed
[image: Members of the White Army, a South Sudanese anti-government
militia, attend a rally in Nasir]
Members of the White Army, a South Sudanese anti-government militia, attend
a rally in Nasir Photo: AFP/Getty Images
The United Nations Security Council said the attack which killed at least
58 people on a UN base in South Sudan where thousands of civilians were
sheltering may 'constitute a war crime'.
Expressing its "outrage" over the attack on Friday, the world body demanded
the South Sudan government do more to prevent future attacks against
civilians.
"The members of the Security Council condemned in the strongest terms these
acts and underscored that attacks on civilians and UN peacekeepers may
constitute a war crime," said a statement that was adopted unanimously by
all Security Council members.
It added: "The members of the Security Council called on the government of
South Sudan to immediately take steps to ensure the safety of all civilians
and UNMISS Protection of Civilian sites in South Sudan, to swiftly
investigate these incidents, and to bring the perpetrators of these
egregious acts to justice."
Earlier in the day, the UN confirmed that at least 58 people were killed
and more than 100 others wounded in the attack. Among the dead were
children. The UN has warned that the death toll could increase.
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The top UN official in the war-torn nation, Toby Lanzer, praised
peacekeepers from India, Nepal and South Korea for preventing what could
have been a massacre of up to 5,000 people, and vowed the world body would
use "lethal force" if it was required.
"We will do everything necessary to protect the lives of people in our
protection, including the use of lethal force," Lanzer told AFP.
In the clearest account yet of Thursday's incident in the
government-controlled town of Bor, Lanzer described how a group of around
350 armed youths in civilian clothes "used extremely violent force to
breach the perimeter" of the UN base.
He said they opened fire on terrified civilians, who have sought shelter
with the UN from a wave of ethnic violence, with the apparent aim of
killing as many people as possible.
"When we realised we were under attack we responded ... the quick actions
of the peacekeepers saved lives," Lanzer said.
"Forty-eight bodies, including children, women, men, have been recovered
from inside the base. The bodies of 10 attackers have been found outside
the base," he said.
Lanzer said measures had been taken to boost security at other UN bases in
the country, which are sheltering close to 60,000 people from different
ethnic groups.
"This past week has been the most bleak in South Sudan's history," Lanzer
said, citing the attack on the UN base as well as reports of renewed
atrocities further north in the oil-hub of Bentiu, which fell to rebel
forces during the week.
He said South Sudan's conflict, which began on December 15 following a
clash between army units loyal to President Salva Kiir and troops backing
ousted vice president Riek Machar, had now descended into "a cycle of
revenge".
"It's vital that all communities realise that they are taking this country
nowhere fast," he said.
The UN's aid agency UNOCHA said it was "particularly outraged by deliberate
and targeted killings of civilians in hospitals, churches, UN peacekeeping
bases and other places where people's rights should be sacrosanct".
Most of the civilians hiding in the UN base in Bor are thought to be ethnic
Nuer, the same tribe of Machar, who now leads a rebel force comprised of
ethnic militia and army defectors. During the week the rebels captured the
town of Bentiu, a key oil hub in the north.
Kiir, an ethnic Dinka, still controls the capital and maintains the loyalty
of a large part of the army. He is also backed by troops from neighbouring
Uganda.
The conflict in South Sudan, which only won independence from Sudan in 2011
and is the world's youngest nation, has left thousands dead and forced
around a million people to flee their homes.
The fighting has been marked by reports and allegations of atrocities by
both sides, with ethnic massacres, child soldier recruitment and patients
raped and murdered in hospitals by attacking forces.
Responding to the Bor attack, South Sudan's government signalled that its
relations with the UN were deteriorating – accusing peacekeepers of
provoking demonstrators and sheltering rebel supporters.
"The UNMISS force shot bullets on air. Their shooting of bullets on air
provoked the situation," Information Minister Michael Makuei Lueth told
reporters, saying the youths were only going to the base to protest against
displaced persons who were celebrating recent rebel advances.
Aside from the pressure of protecting and feeding tens of thousands of
civilians, the UN and humanitarian aid agencies are also warning that more
than one million people in South Sudan are at risk of famine.
The US ambassador to the UN, Samantha Power, urged countries that have
committed additional forces to UNMISS to speed up their deployment, and
said Washington will work with its allies to determine who was responsible
for the "horrific attack" in Bor.
Earlier this week, rebel leader Machar said he had set his sights on
oilfields in the north and the capital Juba, and after the fall of Bentiu,
government officials have reported more heavy fighting across the oil-rich
Unity State.
Edited by Steve Wilson
AFP 190042 UTC AVR 14
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/africaandindianocean/south-sudan/10775859/Deadly-attack-on-South-Sudan-base-may-be-considered-a-war-crime.html
Received on Sun Apr 20 2014 - 15:58:41 EDT