Sunday, July 28, 2019

UNISFA peacekeeper, 6 civilians killed in Abyei, Sudan/South Sudan border area

Article from Africatech
Published: 17 July 2019 1:59 PM 
UN peacekeeper, 6 civilians killed in Sudan/South Sudan border area

Photo: Peacekeepers in the United Nations Mission to South Sudan (UNMISS) ride in their armoured personnel carriers (APC) as they wait in the queue to enter their base in Juba, South Sudan August 1, 2017. Picture taken August 1, 2017. REUTERS/Samir Bol

JUBA (Reuters) - Unknown gunmen killed a U.N. peacekeeper and six civilians in the disputed region of Abyei on the border between Sudan and South Sudan, the regional governor said on Wednesday.

“Yesterday, unknown gunmen attacked the market of Amiet, North of Abyei,” said Kuol Alor Jok, governor of Abyei. He said one of the civilians who was killed was a child.

The United Nations said in a statement late on Tuesday that the peacekeepers had been conducting a routine patrol and came under attack by unknown assailants. One Ethiopian soldier was killed and another was wounded. It said five civilians died.

South Sudan gained independence from Sudan in 2011, but the status of Abyei was not settled.

The region has seen violence between those who wish to join the south and those who wish to be part of the north. The United Nations has maintained a peacekeeping mission, the Interim Security Force for Abyei (UNISFA), in the area since 2011.

Jok said the attackers were believed to be northerners, but their identity was still not known.

Reporting by Denis Dumo; writing by Omar Mohammed; editing by Peter Graff.
To view article and photo, click here: https://af.reuters.com/article/topNews/idAFKCN1UC1JZ-OZATP
- - -

Further Reading

WAR CRIME ALERT: UN peacekeeper slain in Abyei, Sudan/South Sudan. When will the ICC investigate?

Statement attributable to the Spokesman for the UN Secretary-General on the situation in Abyei
UN Press Release
Published: July 17, 2019

Attack on peacekeepers a war crime: Ban Ki-moon
Article from The Hindu
By Special Correspondent New Delhi
Published: April 10, 2013 01:45 IST
Updated: June 10, 2016 07:39 IST

Killing of peacekeepers a war crime: Ban Ki-Moon
Article from The Hindu 
Published: April 10, 2013

No comments: