Report: UN troops abandoned civilians in South Sudan

Secretary General Ban Ki-moon on Tuesday fired the United Nations mission commander in South Sudan after an independent inquiry confirmed peacekeeping forces failed to respond to deadly attacks on civilians and aid workers within a few miles of its headquarters. The investigation called on the UN to be proactive in handling cases of peacekeeper abuse and inaction.

UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric said in a statement the secretary general asked for the replacement of Lt. Gen. Johnson Mogoa Kimani Onidieki after the Independent Special Investigation revealed “serious shortcomings” in the mission’s response to the July clashes in the country.

South Sudan gained its independence in 2011 but has been riddled by ethnic conflict between the warring factions of President Salva Kiir and former Vice President Riek Machar. Violence resumed in July when the warring factions engaged in a skirmish that killed at least 73 people. The attack left 182 buildings in the UN compound pocked by bullets and rocket-propelled grenades. The attack also targeted an adjacent camp that housed about 27,000 displaced people and the Terrain, a private compound where mostly aid workers lived.

The investigation, led by retired UN peacekeeper Maj. Gen. Patrick Cammaert, found the UN force had ample warning of the imminent attack but failed to prepare. When the fighting began, peacekeepers did not operate under a unified command, which led to confusion and underuse of the more than 1,800 infantry troops available. In one instance, Chinese battalions abandoned their positions at one of the camps on July 10 and 11, the report noted.

“The Special Investigation found that a lack of leadership on the part of key senior mission personnel culminated in a chaotic and ineffective response to the violence,” the report said.

On July 11, the peacekeepers failed to respond to calls for help when government forces attacked the Terrain camp. The government forces killed, raped, and tortured many of the 70 civilians in the compound. South Sudan’s National Security Service and a private security company eventually extracted the civilians from the compound.

The report also noted the UN force failed to protect civilians from sexual assaults around the camps, despite knowing about most of the attacks. The mission also failed to adequately respond to the widespread looting that followed the clashes. Civilians stole about $29 million worth of food, equipment, and supplies, and plundered a Food and Agricultural Organization warehouse stocked with seeds and agricultural equipment.

The investigative team recommended “peacekeepers, commanders, and relevant troop-contributing countries should be held accountable for failures to protect.”

Dujarric said the secretary general will implement the investigation’s recommendations and will take necessary steps to protect civilians more effectively. South Sudan’s government, in its first move toward accountability, said today eight people have been accused of rape and eight others of looting in the July attack on the Terrain.