A South Sudanese general and dozens of soldiers have been killed after a United Nations helicopter trying to evacuate them from the northern town of Nasir came under attack, the government has said.
The UN said Friday’s incident, which could deal a blow to an already fragile peace process, was “utterly abhorrent” and a possible war crime.
A power-sharing agreement between President Salva Kiir and first vice-president Riek Machar has been threatened in recent weeks by clashes between their allied forces in the north-eastern Upper Nile state.
The UN crew was trying to airlift soldiers after heavy clashes in Nasir between national forces and the so-called White Army, a militia that Kiir’s government has linked to forces loyal to Machar, his bitter rival.
In a national address announcing the deaths of Gen Majur Dak and other soldiers, Kiir said Machar had assured him and the UN representative that the general would be safe and that the rescue mission should fly to Nasir to evacuate him and his men.
Kiir urged citizens to remain calm, stating: “I have said it time and again that our country will not go back to war. Let no one take law into their hands.
“The government which I lead will handle this crisis. We will remain steadfast in the path of peace,” he added.
The information minister, Michael Makuei, said “approximately 27” troops were killed. A UN crew member was among the dead.
It was not immediately clear if the helicopter was hit as it was in the air or if the attack took place while it was still on the ground.
South Sudan, the world’s youngest country, ended a five-year civil war in 2018 with a power-sharing agreement between Kiir and Machar.
But Kiir’s allies have accused Machar’s forces of fomenting unrest in Nasir county, in league with the White Army, a loose band of armed youths in the region from the same ethnic Nuer community as the vice-president.
Machar’s spokesperson Puok Both Baluang declined to comment on the attack. Machar’s party has previously denied involvement in the recent fighting in Nasir.
The head of the UN mission in South Sudan (Unmiss), Nicholas Haysom, said the attack was “utterly abhorrent” and might constitute a war crime under international law.
“We also regret the killing of those that we were attempting to extract, particularly when assurances of safe passage had been received. Unmiss urges an investigation to determine those responsible and hold them accountable,” he said.
Machar’s spokesperson said earlier this week that security forces had arrested the petroleum minister, the peacebuilding minister, the deputy head of the army and other senior military officials allied with Machar, potentially jeopardising the 2018 peace deal that ended a civil war between Kiir’s and Machar’s forces.
The government has not commented on the detentions and all the detained officials, apart from the peacebuilding minister, remain in custody or under house arrest, according to Machar’s spokesperson.
The White Army fought alongside Machar’s forces in the 2013-18 civil war that pitted them against predominantly ethnic Dinka troops loyal to Kiir.
Analysts have warned that the escalating tensions could lead to a full-blown conflict. “South Sudan is slipping rapidly toward full-blown war,” said the International Crisis Group’s Horn of Africa director, Alan Boswell.
He urged the UN to prepare peacekeepers to save civilian lives, adding: “We fear large-scale ethnic massacres if the situation is not soon contained.”
In a statement, the UN urged “all actors to refrain from further violence and for the country’s leaders to urgently intervene to resolve tensions through dialogue and ensure that the security situation in Nasir, and more broadly, does not deteriorate”.
The UN mission in South Sudan was established soon after the country won independence from Sudan in 2011. Almost 20,000 peacekeepers from 73 countries serve in it.
Reuters and Agence France-Presse contributed to this story
