AFRICA/SOUTH SUDAN - The UN recognizes the responsibilities of peacekeepers in preventing the massacre in Malakal

Thursday, 23 June 2016 un   massacres  

Abuja (Agenzia Fides) - Confusion in the command and control, and lack of knowledge of the rules of engagement, or orders on how to deal with an attack by the Blue Helmets are among the causes that led to the massacre that took place on the night of February 18 in the Malakal refugee camp in South Sudan (see Fides 18 and 19 February 2016). This was established by a UN investigation on the behavior that highlighted the behavior of the Blue Helmets of the UN Mission in South Sudan (UMISS).
According to the report the attackers wore uniforms of the SPLA (Sudan People's Liberation Army) and used relatively sophisticated weapons, including tracer bullets and grenades, to hit civilian refugees in the UN structure that houses about 50,000 displaced people. At least 30 civilians were killed and 123 wounded.
According to Doctors Without Borders "MSF" UMISS did not comply with its mandate to protect civilians, as established by the Security Council: before the attack, it failed in preventing weapons from entering the camp; it decided not to intervene when the first clashes began and when the attack from the outside broke out it was extremely slow in responding to the assault".
The UN announced that the troops that did not respond to the assault will be repatriated. (L.M.) (Agenzia Fides 23/06/2016)


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