UNMISS denies alleged failure to protect civilians in Malakal

March 30, 2016 (JUBA) — The United Nations Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS) has dismissed as “non existent” media reports that its peacekeepers had failed to offer protection to civilians who fled protection sites in the Upper Nile capital, Malakal.

“The current priority is to rehabilitate areas of the site destroyed by fire during the incident and to restore service delivery to Sectors 1-4 of the site. The “Sector 5” referred to in the media reports does not exist,” reads a UN statement issued Wednesday.

Prior to the outbreak of violence in mid March, there were 47,000 displaced people in Malakal. However, about 5,000 of them fled the site and took shelter in Malakal town after fighting that left dozens dead and over 90 injured, according to UN peacekeepers.

Currently, the world body continues to protect approximately 200,000 civilians at its various protection sites across the young nation, including in the capital Juba.

“To further extend the Mission’s capacity to protect civilians to other areas affected by conflict, the Mission has established temporary operating bases in Mundri, Leer and Wau Shilluk to complement forward operating bases in Malakal and Bentiu. This presence beyond the protection sites is part of efforts to establish a greater sense of security among the population,” further added the UNMISS statement.

The fighting in Malakal, now the headquarter of the newly created South Sudan’s Eastern Nile state, involved members of the Dinka on one side, the Nuer and Shilluk on the other.

The establishment of UN protection of civilians’ sites was a temporary measure designed to accommodate the thousands of people who fled to UN premises after the outbreak of conflict in late 2013. They were never intended to be long term solutions.

UNMISS and partners are hopeful that renewed momentum towards implementing the peace agreement will be sustained and that the resulting improvement in the security situation will allow for the displaced people of South Sudan to return to their homes.

In the meantime, the UN said it remains committed to the protection of civilians within its mandate and within the framework of its support the peace process in South Sudan.

(ST)