{{Armed rebels that South Sudan believes are backed by Sudan opened fire on a United Nations convoy on Tuesday, killing five U.N. peacekeepers from India and at least seven civilians, officials said.}}
Five peacekeepers and seven civilians working with the U.N. mission were killed, said Hilde Johnson, the top U.N. envoy in South Sudan, in a statement.
She said at least nine additional peacekeepers and civilians were injured and some remain unaccounted for.
South Sudan’s military spokesman, Col. Philip Aguer, blamed the attack on fighters led by David Yau Yau, a rebel leader South Sudan’s military has battled for months.
Aguer said the attack took place on a convoy traveling between the South Sudanese towns of Pibor and Bor on Tuesday morning.
“Definitely this attack was carried out by David Yau Yau’s militia,” Aguer said.
“They have been launching ambushes even on the SPLA for about six months now,” he said, using the acronym for South Sudan’s military.
Kieran Dwyer, spokesman for the U.N. peacekeeping department, said: “This was clearly a deliberate, targeted attack against a United Nations convoy by about 200 armed men.”
He said it was civilian convoy with just over 30 U.N. soldiers there to escort it and protect it.
“As the peacekeepers defended the convoy, there was an intense firefight before the attackers ultimately withdrew,” Dwyer said.
“Our peacekeepers fought courageously and saved the lives of many colleagues and the civilians they were protecting, but tragically at least 12 people lost their lives.”
The U.N. Security Council also condemned the attack “in the strongest terms” and called on the government of South Sudan “to swiftly investigate the incident and bring the perpetrators to justice.”
{wirestory}
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