UN presses South Sudan leaders to hold camp attackers responsible

The United Nations urged South Sudan's government Tuesday to hold accountable the perpetrators of February's violent attacks on a camp sheltering nearly 50,000 displaced civilians in the northeastern oil hub Malakal.

A May inquiry found that assailants, some wearing South Sudan army (SPLA) uniforms, entered the camp on February 17 and 18 through a breached fence and proceed to shoot, loot property and set tents ablaze.

The attackers "used sophisticated weaponry, including tracer bullets and grenades, during the attacks" that left at least 30 people dead and 123 injured, according to the report.

A UN peacekeeper from Rwanda walks through the remnants of a looted and burnt clinic in the UN Protection of Civilians site in Malakal, on February 26, 2016 ©Albert Gonzalez Farran (AFP/File)

Evidence gathered from witnesses, including UN personnel, made clear that the attackers "systematically" razed large sections of the camp inhabited by the Nuer and Shilluk communities, leaving those that housed Dinka and Dafuri groups intact, it said.

The investigation also found that Eastern Nile state's governor helped the Dinka population flee to Malakal town in pickup trucks.

Based on the results of the probe, UN chief Ban Ki-moon urged the young nation to "hold accountable the individuals identified as responsible for the violence and attacks," including political and military leaders in South Sudan's Eastern Nile state.

- 'Difficult to exonerate' -

As the attacks raged, the Dinka and Darfuri populations -- 4,000 people in total -- left the camp, and most now live in Malakal proper.

"It is difficult to exonerate the local SPLA commanders and government-allied militia from involvement in the incident" as the SPLA is the only armed force present in Malakal, said the UN report.

The UN additionally recommended in its findings that the president and vice president of South Sudan -- leaders who control most of the country's armed forces and allied militias -- make televised statements "condemning any form of attack by any actors against civilians anywhere," especially in UN-protected areas.

The UN emphasized the need to create at least a short-term plan to maintain the Malakal camp until security and political stability in the region improves, "as the potential for resumed clashes and fighting between the belligerents remains very high in the area."

The United Nations Mission in the Republic of South Sudan (UNMISS) is up for renewal before August, and the report urged supplying the mission with additional resources to "improve its capacity to protect civilians."

In a letter accompanying the report, Ban said that he had shared the inquiry findings with South Sudan's president Salva Kiir.

The UN also launched in March an internal inquiry into how the UN peacekeepers stationed at the camp reacted toward civilians they were supposed to protect.

UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric said the internal report is not yet complete, but preliminary conclusions indicate "there was confusion with respect to command and control" and "a lack of coordination among the various civilian and uniformed peacekeepers" during the crisis.

"There were unrealistic expectations as to the level of protection that UNMISS could feasibly provide" to the tens of thousands of residents in the camp during the crisis, added Dujarric.

The Security Council is slated to discuss the two reports Wednesday.

Doctors Without Borders (known by its French acronym MSF) said the UN mission "failed in its duty to safeguard the people at the site and could have averted many fatalities."

In its statement, MSF added that peacekeepers failed to take necessary precautions to prevent weapons from flowing into the camp prior to the attack, and "were extremely slow to repel the assault" after outsiders stormed in.

Tens of thousands of people displaced by civil war live in UN camps in South Sudan, the world's youngest country.

Displaced people residing in the United Nations Protection of Civilians site in Malakal, demonstrate against the violence in the camp on February 26, 2016 ©Albert Gonzalez Farran (AFP)