Date: Wed, 10 Sep 2014 00:19:28 +0200
UN implicates S.Sudan rebel leader in aid chopper downing
<http://www.afp.com/> AFP
09/09/2014
Juba (AFP) - The United Nations mission in South Sudan on Tuesday implicated
a rebel leader in the shooting down of one of its aid helicopters last
month.
A statement from UNMISS said preliminary investigations into the
circumstances surrounding the August 26 crash of the Mi-8 helicopter, which
killed three Russian crewmen and injured a fourth, had "uncovered evidence
indicating that the aircraft was shot down".
UNMISS also revealed that Peter Gadet, the leader of South Sudanese rebel
forces in the area, had alleged during a phone call with UN staff prior to
the incident that the UN flights were being used to transport government
troops.
During the phone call, Gadet "threatened to shoot down the mission's
aircraft", the statement said.
"It is premature at this stage to conclusively apportion blame for the
shooting down of the helicopter," the UN said, but added that further
investigations "will make it possible to conclusively determine the source
of the ground fire which brought down the helicopter."
Both the United States and the European Union have slapped sanctions on
Gadet over atrocities committed in South Sudan's civil war.
Thousands of people have been killed and more than 1.8 million have fled a
war sparked by a power struggle between President Salva Kiir and his sacked
deputy Riek Machar.
The army and rebels have both accused each other of the attack, which broke
a day-old ceasefire deal, the fourth in eight months of war.
UN cargo helicopters are vital to supplying UN peacekeeping bases and
providing food for civilians who have taken refuge in the bases following a
wave of ethnic violence.
Helicopters are also crucial in reaching remote regions hardest hit by the
fighting, which aid agencies say has pushed the country to the brink of
famine.
<http://news.yahoo.com/un-implicates-ssudan-rebel-leader-aid-chopper-downing
-174732753.html> People attend a memorial for the three Russian crew members
killed onboard a UN helicopter after it was shot down, August 20, 2014 in
Juba
.
People attend a memorial for the three Russian crew members killed onboard a
UN helicopter after it was shot down, August 20, 2014 in Juba (AFP Photo/JC
McIlwaine)
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