---------- Forwarded message ---------- From: John Ashworth <[email protected]> Date: Tue, 9 Apr 2013 21:59:44 -0400 Subject: [sudan-john-ashworth] UNMISS personnel killed in Jonglei State To: Group <[email protected]>
1. UNMISS CONDEMNS KILLING OF PEACEKEEPERS AND CIVILIANS [also attached] Tuesday, 9 April 2013 Hilde F. Johnson, Special Representative of the Secretary-General in South Sudan, condemns in the strongest terms the killing today of five peacekeepers and seven civilians working with UNMISS in an ambush by unidentified assailants near the settlement of Gumuruk, Jonglei State. At least nine additional peacekeepers and civilians were injured in the attack and some remain unaccounted for. Ms. Johnson expresses her deepest condolences to the families of all the peacekeepers, colleagues and civilians killed in the attack. UNMISS peacekeepers frequently patrol the area as part of an effort to provide protection to civilians, as well as providing armed escorts to humanitarian aid convoys. "This attack will not deter UNMISS and its peacekeepers from working to protect vulnerable communities in South Sudan," said Ms. Johnson, "UNMISS is determined to continue its work in supporting authorities ensure peace." http://unmiss.unmissions.org/LinkClick.aspx?fileticket=e3E4bl80deU%3D&tabid=3465&language=en-US END1 2. SECURITY COUNCIL PRESS STATEMENT ON UNMISS AMBUSH SC/10968 AFR/2591 9 April 2013 The following Security Council press statement was read out today by Council President Eugène-Richard Gasana (Rwanda): The members of the Security Council condemned in the strongest terms the 9 April attack by unidentified armed persons on a United Nations Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS) convoy in Jonglei, South Sudan, in which five Indian peacekeepers and at least seven civilians were killed. The members of the Security Council expressed their condolences to the families of the peacekeepers and the UNMISS staff killed in the attack, as well as to the Government of India. They called on the Government of South Sudan to swiftly investigate the incident and bring the perpetrators to justice. The members of the Security Council reiterated their full support for UNMISS and the troop-contributing countries, and called on all parties in South Sudan to cooperate with the Mission. http://www.un.org/News/Press/docs/2013/sc10968.doc.htm END2 3. Five Indian peacekeepers killed in South Sudan ambush Rajat Pandit & Sachin Parashar, TNN | Apr 9, 2013, 09.28 PM IST NEW DELHI: Five Indian soldiers, including a Lt-Colonel, were killed and another five injured when the UN convoy they were escorting as part of their peace-keeping operations in strife-torn South Sudan came under heavy fire from armed rebels on Tuesday morning. The deceased were identified as Lt-Col Mahipal Singh, Naik Subedar Shiv Kumar Pal, Havildars Hira Lal and Bharat Sasmal and sepoy Nand Kishore. Their next of kin will each get $70,000 as grant from the UN, apart from the "higher compensation amounts" paid by the Indian government for "battle casualties" . Defence ministry officials said the Indian escort team of two officers and 35 other ranks — from the 6 Mahar Regiment and 9 Mechanized Infantrydeployed as part of United Nations Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS) — were escorting five UN vehicles from Gumruk to Bor in the volatile state of Jonglei when the rebels ambushed the convoy at about 8.30am local time. "The rebels opened indiscriminate fire with small arms and rocket-propelled grenades. Our soldiers retaliated to protect the convoy. The fierce gunfight continued for around an hour...seven civilians were also killed in the incident, as per the reports we have got," said an official. While the five injured Indian soldiers, including a Captain, were subsequently evacuated to the capital city of Juba in three UN helicopters for medical treatment, arrangements are being made to bring the bodies of the five killed back to India for" the final rites with full military honours" . Though over 140 Indian soldiers have been killed in UN missions since India's first commitment to Korea began in 1950, this incident is one of the biggest in terms of lives lost. Expressing his condolences at the "unfortunate loss of lives", defence minister A K Antony lauded "the bravery exhibited by the Indian soldiers in the highest traditions of the Indian Army and in contribution to the peace and security in the world". Around 2,200 soldiers from India, which constantly figures in the top three troop contributors for UN missions around the globe, are currently deployed in South Sudan, with one battalion in Jonglei and another in Malakkal on the border with Sudan. UNMISS has been deployed in South Sudan, since the country became independent from Sudan in July 2011, to preserve peace and security amid widespread ethnic violence. While India currently has 6,950 soldiers deployed in different UN missions, the contingents in war-ravaged Democratic Republic of Congo and South Sudan are the largest in terms of numbers. Indian soldiers have come under attack in D R Congo too, with at least five being killed and several others injured while undertaking peace-keeping duties there over the last three years. India has deployed well over 100,000 Indian troops, military observers and police officers in UN missions over the last 55 years but it has not yet yielded much in terms of its efforts to seek a permanent seat in the UN Security Council, or even in its attempts to seek a greater role in world affairs. But the large troop contribution does reinforce India's claim for a permanent seat when the UNSC is expanded as well as provides handsome monetary compensation and "international exposure" to its soldiers. It also accrues a lot of goodwill for India on the global stage, especially in places like the oil and mineral-rich Africa, where the new "great game" is now being played. China, incidentally, has deployed over 2,000 troops in UN peace-keeping operations, mostly in Africa, after earlier shedding its reservations for such endeavours. Indian Army battalions covet UN assignments since its troops get UN allowances in dollars, with officers getting $2,200 and other ranks $1,100, which are over and above their Indian rupee salaries being safely deposited at home. More importantly, it gives the battalions some much-needed respite from being deployed in debilitating counter-insurgency operations in Jammu & Kashmir and north-east as well as forward posts on the borders with China and Pakistan. http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/Five-Indian-peacekeepers-killed-in-South-Sudan-ambush/articleshow/19463496.cms END3 4. Five Indian UN troops killed in South Sudan BBC 9 April 2013 Last updated at 13:00 ET Five Indian peacekeepers escorting a UN convoy in South Sudan have been killed in an ambush by rebels, the office for the UN secretary-general has said. The peacekeepers were serving with the UN Mission in the Republic of South Sudan (Unmiss). Two Unmiss national staff and five civilian staff contractors were also killed in the attack. Nine others were injured, some seriously. The violence happened in Jonglei state, a haven for armed groups. Unmiss has been in South Sudan since the country's creation in 2011, with a remit to preserve peace and security. In a statement, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said he was "appalled" by the attack in Gumuruk, and called on "the government of South Sudan to bring the perpetrators of this crime to justice". The Indian foreign ministry said arrangements were being made to repatriate the bodies of the Indian nationals. Correspondents say that Jonglei has been hit by widespread ethnic violence since South Sudan became independent from Sudan in July 2011 - with much of it taking place in Pibor county, where the UN peacekeeping force is based. South Sudan's military spokesman, Col Philip Aguer, blamed Tuesday's attack on militants led David Yau Yau, who South Sudan says is being armed by Sudan. Unmiss chief Hilde Johnson said last month that the government was expected soon to launch an offensive against fighters loyal to Mr Yau Yau in Jonglei. On Monday Ms Johnson urged authorities and communities in Jonglei state "to take all necessary steps to prevent inter-communal violence and attacks by armed groups which are threatening civilians and spurring a deadly cycle of violence". "The destabilisation of Jonglei must stop," she said. Insecurity in the state has been exacerbated by a cattle-raiding feud between rival ethnic groups, which has left hundreds of people dead and some 100,000 displaced since independence. India is a major contributor to UN peacekeeping forces around the world and has suffered losses in the past. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-22080224 END4 5. South Sudan ambush kills five U.N. peacekeepers, seven civilians By Andrew Green JUBA | Tue Apr 9, 2013 12:59pm EDT (Reuters) - Five U.N. peacekeepers and seven civilians working for the U.N. mission in South Sudan were killed in an ambush by unidentified attackers in the restive eastern state of Jonglei on Tuesday, the United Nations said. "At least nine additional peacekeepers and civilians were injured in the attack and some remain unaccounted for," the U.N. Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS) said in a statement. India's foreign ministry said the peacekeepers killed were Indian. The nationalities of all the civilians killed were not immediately available, though the United Nations said two of them were South Sudanese and the other five were contractors. U.N. spokesman Eduardo del Buey said U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon was appalled by the attack and urged South Sudan "to bring the perpetrators of this crime to justice. He recalls that the killing of peacekeepers is a war crime that falls under the jurisdiction of the International Criminal Court." The U.N. Security Council and U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Susan Rice also condemned the attack. The soldiers were escorting a U.N. convoy near the town of Gumuruk in Jonglei, a remote state hit hard by a cycle of cattle rustling, tribal violence and fighting between government forces and insurgents. "(The peacekeepers) were in a group of 32 when they were attacked," Syed Akbaruddin, spokesman for India's external affairs ministry, told Reuters. "We came to know five were killed." Since winning independence from Sudan in July 2011, South Sudan has been struggling to impose its authority across vast swathes of territory teeming with weapons after decades of civil war with Khartoum. More than 150 people were killed last month in Jonglei, the country's largest state, in a battle between South Sudan's army and insurgents of David Yau Yau, a local rebel leader fighting government forces. Last month, the African country's army launched an offensive against Yau Yau in Jonglei, where the government hopes to search for oil with the help of France's Total. Yau Yau mounted a rebellion last year, with support from his Murle ethnic group, after losing local elections in 2010. A shortwave radio station with links to the Yau Yau rebellion says the group is fighting the government in reaction to abuses committed during a state disarmament program in Jonglei. Rights groups accuse South Sudan's army of human rights violations during a disarmament push aimed at ending a cycle of clashes between the Murle and Lou Nuer tribes. The army denies this. Nearly 900 people died when about 7,000 armed youths of the Lou Nuer tribe attacked Murle villages in the Pibor area at the end of 2011, according to the United Nations. Hilde Johnson, special representative of the secretary-general in South Sudan, condemned Tuesday's attack. "This attack will not deter UNMISS and its peacekeepers from working to protect vulnerable communities in South Sudan," she said. "UNMISS is determined to continue its work in supporting authorities ensure peace." (Additional reporting by Louis Charbonneau in New York and Frank Jack Daniel in Delhi; Writing by Ulf Laessing and Maggie Fick in Cairo; Editing by Kevin Liffey, Sonya Hepinstall and Stacey Joyce) http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/04/09/us-southsudan-un-deaths-idUSBRE9380LE20130409 END5 6. Jonglei ambush kills 5 UN peacekeepers, 7 civilian staff April 9, 2013 (JUBA) - Five United Nations peacekeepers and seven civilian staff from the United Nations Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS) were killed on Tuesday in an ambush by an unidentified armed group in Jonglei state. According to an UNMISS press release, at least nine peacekeepers and civilians were injured in the attack, in addition to those who were killed. Some other UN staff also remain unaccounted for, after the incident which occurred near Gumuruk in Pibor county. The Special Representative of the Secretary-General in South Sudan, Hilde F. Johnson, has condemned the attack in the strongest terms, expressing her condolences to the relatives and colleagues of those who died. In Tuesday’s press release, Johnson said that the "attack will not deter UNMISS and its peacekeepers from working to protect vulnerable communities in South Sudan", adding that her mission "is determined to continue its work in supporting authorities ensure peace." Ban Ki-moon, the UN Secretary-General equally condemned in the "strongest" term the killing of the five Indian peacekeepers, two UNMISS national staff and five civilian staff contractors in Gumuruk. He urged the Government of South Sudan to bring the perpetrators of this crime to justice, adding that the killing of peacekeepers is a "war crime that falls under the jurisdiction of the International Criminal Court". "The Secretary-General expresses 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," partly reads the statement extended to Sudan Tribune. Gumuruk is located in Jonglei’s volatile Pibor county where rebels have been fighting the government on and off since since 2010 when David Yauyau lost his bid to become a member of the state’s parliament, representing the Gumuruk constituency. The area has also been blighted by cattle raids between the Murle tribe of Pibor county and other ethnic groups in Jonglei state. The poor security situation means that UNMISS peacekeepers frequently patrol the area as part of their Chapter VII mandate from the UN Security Council - granted shortly after the country’s secession from Sudan in July 2011 - to protect South Sudanese civilians. UNMISS’s patrols also aim to protect the many humanitarian aid convoys that operate in Jonglei to provide assistance those affected by the fighting between the rebels and the South Sudanese army (SPLA), which has been carrying out a disarmament campaign in the area for over a year. The SPLA’s spokesperson, Colonel Philip Aguer, said on Tuesday that the military was not responsible to for the for the attack, saying the army knows very well that the mission is in the country with a mandate that provides support to the government. The military officer did not provide any figures of those involved in the incident, saying his office was still waiting for details from the scene of the attack. “Our forces in Jonglei have managed to restore the situation. It is now under control. It is duty of the government to bring peace so that the country enjoys stability and will will put to an end these criminal activities. The SPLA is capable of handling it”, Aguer told reporters Tuesday. In December last year the SPLA shot down an UNMISS helicopter in Pibor mistaking it for a Sudanese army aircraft, killing its four Russian crew members. South Sudan alleges that Khartoum is backing Yauyau’s rebellion by supplying him with weapons and ammunition, an allegation denied by the north. (ST) http://www.sudantribune.com/spip.php?article46151 END6 ______________________ John Ashworth Sudan, South Sudan Advisor [email protected] +254 725 926 297 (Kenya mobile) +211 919 695 362 (South Sudan mobile) +27 82 050 1235 (South Africa mobile) +44 750 304 1790 (UK/international) +88 216 4334 0735 (Thuraya satphone) PO Box 52002 - 00200, Nairobi, Kenya This is a personal e-mail address and the contents do not necessarily reflect the views of any organisation -- -- The content of this message does not necessarily reflect John Ashworth's views. Unless explicitly stated otherwise, John Ashworth is not the author of the content and the source is always cited. 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PS_ambush_Apr9.pdf
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