
Five soldiers of the Indian Army were killed and four injured in an ambush on Tuesday morning of their United Nations peacekeeping mission by unidentified assailants in South Sudan. Seven civilians also perished in the ambush that began at 9 a.m. and continued for over an hour.
Lt. Colonel Mahipal Singh, Havaldars Heera Lal and Bharat Sasmal, Naib Subedar Shiv Kumar Pal and Sipahi Naval Kishore were killed as they escorted a 32-member convoy near the settlement of Gumuruk in Jonglei State. According to agency reports, the convoy was en route to Bor when it was struck by rocket-propelled grenades and small arms fire.
Some members of the convoy are yet to be accounted for. Last month, an Indian soldier was shot at and injured in the same region.
A U.N. spokesperson declined to share details of the nature of the convoy or the number of people missing.
In a telephone conversation, Col. Saurabh Mishra, Commanding Officer of the 6 Mahar regiment in Jonglei, declined to comment as he was focused on evacuating those killed and injured.
The bodies of those killed would be brought back to the country, said official sources in the Ministry of External Affairs.
Defence Minister A.K. Antony lauded the bravery of the slain soldiers and conveyed his grief to their families.
Hilde F. Johnson, Special Representative of the U.N. Secretary-General in South Sudan, condemned the attacked “in the strongest terms,” a U.N. release said.
A contingent of 2,200 Indian Army personnel are deployed with the United Nations Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS). While one group is based in Malakkal on the border with Sudan, the other one is deployed in Jonglei. Elsewhere on the African continent, Indian troops are involved in peacekeeping operations in the Democratic Republic of Congo and Cote d’Ivoire.
“The U.N. peacekeepers were deployed in certain parts of Jonglei, where there is some insecurity,” said Jonglei’s Governor Kuol Manyang Juuk. “Whenever there was any disturbance, the civil population would run to the U.N. camps where they felt secure.”
“The peacekeepers did not engage in any combat, but were friendly and peaceful towards the populace,” he said. A U.N. official confirmed that the peacekeepers conducted regular patrols of the troubled region but were not involved in combat operations.
Jonglei is the largest and most populous State in South Sudan, a country carved out its northern neighbour in 2011 after a brutal civil war spanning many decades. Post-independence, the State has been roiled by inter-ethnic conflict between the Lou Nuer and Murle communities. The conflict has since escalated into a full-blown insurgency led by Murle leader David Yauyau who, the South Sudanese believe, is backed by the government of Sudan. Sudanese officials have repeatedly denied these allegations.
Last week, the U.N. urged South Sudan’s government to protect communities in Jonglei, even as representatives of France, Canada, Norway, the U.S. and the U.K. expressed concern that military conflict, lack of infrastructure, seasonal migration and deterioration of law and order were putting civilian lives at risk. About 17,000 people have been displaced in Jonglei due to the current conflict, according to the U.N.
Apart from providing peacekeepers, India also has significant economic assets in the two countries. Oil and Natural Gas Corporation Videsh Ltd (OVL) has a stake in South Sudan’s oil fields. It has constructed and financed a 741-km pipeline in the north from the Khartoum refinery to Port Sudan on the Red Sea.
'; } else if (google_ads[0].type == "html") { s += google_ads[0].snippet; } else if (google_ads[0].type == "text") { // Adjust text sizes to occupy the majority of ad space. if (google_ads.length == 1) { ad_title_class = 'ad_below_title_large'; ad_text_class = 'ad_below_text_large'; ad_url_class = 'ad_below_url_large'; } else { ad_title_class = 'ad_below_title'; ad_text_class = 'ad_below_text'; ad_url_class = 'ad_below_url'; } for(var i=0; i
Newer articles:
- South Sudan: UN officials, Security Council condemn deadly attack on ... - UN News Centre - 09/04/2013 13:50
- Five Indian peacekeepers killed in South Sudan ambush - Times of India - 09/04/2013 13:18
- Striped Like a Badger: New Genus of Bat Identified in South Sudan - Science Daily (press release) - 09/04/2013 12:54
- South Sudan: 'Unknown rebels' gun down 12 peacekeepers and UN staff - Mail Guardian Online - 09/04/2013 12:26
- 5 UN peacekeepers, 7 civilians gunned down in South Sudan, officials say - Fox News - 09/04/2013 12:25
Older news items
- 5 UN peacekeepers killed during South Sudan ambush - CBC.ca - 09/04/2013 10:30
- 5 UN troops, 7 others killed in South Sudan - Yahoo! News - 09/04/2013 09:50
- Finance and Administration Manager - Reuters AlertNet - 09/04/2013 05:44
- South Sudan Oil Flows Again - Voice of America - 09/04/2013 00:26
- Mobile clinic brings healthcare to South Sudan villages - ChristianToday - 08/04/2013 11:21
Latest news items (all categories):
- Corruption Perceptions Index 2024, South Sudan slides to bottom overtaking Somalia - 11/02/2025 11:17
- Vacancy Announcements - UNICEF South Sudan (11/02/2025) - 11/02/2025 10:49
- President Salva Kiir sacks two vice presidents and others in a decree today (10/02/2025) - 10/02/2025 19:36
- South Sudan parties adjourn talks in Kenya - 10/02/2025 16:24
- South Sudan becomes 22nd African country to be affected by mpox - 10/02/2025 16:21
Random articles (all categories):
- SOUTH SUDAN / MAIWUT FLOODING - 22/08/2013 19:00
- Precarious South Essential to Sudan - 25/04/2009 13:40
- China donates 2,048 tonnes rice to South Sudan - 27/05/2018 07:27
- Accounts Emerge in South Sudan of 3,000 Deaths in Ethnic Violence - 06/01/2012 06:50
- Sudan: Khartoum, Juba Agree to Demarcate Border to Ease Tension - 18/02/2012 20:11
Popular articles:
- Who is the darkest person in the world, according to Guinness World Record? - 25/10/2022 02:34 - Read 70884 times
- No oil in troubled waters - 25/03/2014 15:02 - Read 22374 times
- School exam results in South Sudan show decline - 01/04/2012 17:58 - Read 21585 times
- Top 10 weakest currency exchange rates in Africa in 2023 - 19/07/2023 00:24 - Read 19360 times
- NDSU student from South Sudan receives scholarship - In-Forum - 29/09/2012 01:44 - Read 19231 times