Note from Sudan Watch Editor: Two UN peacekeepers have been attacked in Abyei a contested region along the border of Sudan and South Sudan. According to the United Nations (UN) any attack on peacekeepers is a war crime.
I am sad to note that on 17 July 2019 two United Nations Interim Security Force for Abyei (UNISFA) peacekeepers, conducting a routine patrol at the Amiet Market in Abyei, came under attack by unknown assailants with guns. One peacekeeper was killed while the other was wounded. Five civilians from Abyei were also killed in the incident, one was a child. The two peacekeepers are from Ethiopia.
Image credit: BBC News online
When I first started this site Sudan Watch 16 years ago, I chronicled every attack on peacekeepers in Sudan and South Sudan. But after the number reached 100, I stopped counting as it became too upsetting. The outcome of investigations were rarely reported, little was done by the International Criminal Court (ICC), the perpetrators were rarely brought to justice by the authorities in Sudan and South Sudan.
How many people have been arrested and charged for attacking peacekeepers in Sudan and South Sudan? Former UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon has been quoted as saying (see reports below) that the killing of a peacekeeper is a war crime that falls under the jurisdiction of the International Criminal Court.
In the name of all peacekeepers slain in Sudan and South Sudan and their families who must be still grief stricken, I hereby call on the ICC to investigate the deaths of all peacekeepers in Sudan and South Sudan. No matter how many years have passed, peacekeepers are special soldiers who risk their lives to protect civilians and help keep peace. I believe many had to work under Chapter 6 mandate, unable to fight back.
If any person from the ICC is reading this: what has happened since the ICC's investigation into Haskanita? Enter the word Haskanita into the search box here at this site Sudan Watch or search for Haskanita online.
As this lengthy blog post includes two news reports covering an ambush in Jonglei, South Sudan in 2013, plus an extremely lengthy analysis by a Eric Reeves, a Sudan researcher based in the USA, I am reprinting reports on the attack in Abyei, and Eric’s commentary, separately, I'll add links to them here. Eric's essay contains many details concerning approximately 50 attacks on peacekeepers in Sudan during 2008-2013.
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Article from The Hindu
By Special Correspondent New Delhi
Published: April 10, 2013 01:45 IST
Updated: June 10, 2016 07:39 IST
Attack on peacekeepers a war crime: Ban Ki-moon
Photo: United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon.
The bodies of the five Indian peacekeepers, who were killed in an ambush in South Sudan on Tuesday, are on their way to India by a special United Nations aircraft, even as U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon called the killings a war crime and urged the African nation to bring the perpetrators to justice.
The United Nations Security Council (UNSC) also condemned the incident and reiterated its full support to the mission of which the Indian soldiers were a part.
On Wednesday, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh expressed anguish over the killings. “I pay tributes to our brave soldiers,” Dr. Singh said in his message to the bereaved families.
The U.N. said the five Indian peacekeepers and two South Sudanese attached to the U.N. Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS) and five civilian contractors were killed in an ambush in Jonglei, South Sudan’s largest state, where over 150 people were killed last month in a battle between the army and insurgents of a local rebel leader. Nine others were injured in the attack, and some are in critical condition.
Mr. Ban said the killing of peacekeepers was a war crime falling under the jurisdiction of the International Criminal Court. He expressed his deepest condolences to the governments of India and South Sudan and the families of the peacekeepers, the staff members and the contractors killed in the attack.
The Security Council joined Mr. Ban in calling on the South Sudanese government to swiftly investigate the incident and bring the perpetrators to justice.
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Article from The Hindu
Published: April 10, 2013
Killing of peacekeepers a war crime: Ban Ki-Moon
Terming the killing of five Indian peacekeepers as a war crime, United Nations Secretary-General Ban ki-Moon has called on the Government of South Sudan to bring the perpetrators of the crime to justice. The United Nations Security Council (UNSC) also condemned the incident and reiterated its full support to the mission of which the five slain Indian soldiers were a part.
According to the U.N., five Indian peacekeepers, two South Sudanese with the U.N. Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS) and five civilian contractors were killed in an ambush in Jonglei state of South Sudan. Nine others were injured in the attack, and some are in critical condition.
Stating that the killing of peacekeepers is a war crime that falls under the jurisdiction of the International Criminal Court, Mr. Ban said he was appalled by the attack on an UNMISS convoy on Tuesday.
The Secretary-General expressed his deepest condolences to the governments of India and South Sudan and to the families of the peacekeepers, staff members and contractors killed in the attack.
The UNSC also condemned the attack and joined Mr. Ban in calling on the Government of South Sudan to swiftly investigate the incident and bring the perpetrators to justice.
The UNSC reiterated its full support for UNMISS and the troop contributing countries and called on all parties in South Sudan to cooperate with the mission.
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Statement attributable to the Spokesman for the UN Secretary-General on the situation in Abyei
UN Press Release
Published: July 17, 2019
