Tuesday 1 November 2016

United Nation sacks South Sudan peacekeeping chief over damning report

                                 A displaced woman carries goods as UN peacekeepers patrol in Juba. Photo: 4 October 2016
UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon has sacked the commander of the UN force in South Sudan after a report said it had failed to protect civilians in July.

The report backed claims by aid workers that the UN troops refused to respond when government soldiers attacked an international aid compound in Juba.

In the fighting between the army and former rebels, a local journalist was killed and aid workers were raped.

The clashes derailed efforts to form a unity government and end the civil war.

The fighting began with clashes between President Salva Kiir's guards and bodyguards of the sacked Vice-President Riek Machar.

'Chaotic response'

Mr Ban "has asked for the immediate replacement of the force commander" Kenyan Lt Gen Johnson Mogoa Kimani Ondieki, UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric announced on Monday.

The independent special investigation into the violence on 8-11 July in South Sudan's capital was commissioned by the UN.

In three days of fighting, at least 73 people were killed, including more than 20 internally displaced people who had sought UN protection. Two peacekeepers also died.

Among the targets of the attack by government troops were a UN peacekeeping base, known as UN House, and the nearby Terrain Camp.

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