UN says committed to protecting civilians in S. Sudan

January 27, 2018 (JUBA)- The United Nations Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS) said in conducted on Saturday a search operation within the protection of civilians site next to its base in Juba to determine whether individuals allegedly involved in the abduction and killing of three people in the capital last week were located within the camp.

“Protection of Civilians sites exist to shelter South Sudanese people who are under imminent and ongoing threat of physical violence and who genuinely fear for their lives,” partly reads a UN statement.

The world body said it will not tolerate people who commit crimes outside and then hide inside the camp behind women and children who need protection.

“The actions of a few must not jeopardize the safety of 39,000 vulnerable people,” the statement further stressed.

The UN mission, however, reiterated its firm commitment to fulfill its mandate to protect civilians and maintain the safety of displaced people within protection sites.

At least 200,000 South Sudanese are sheltering at UN peacekeeping bases in the country.

More than two million people have fled South Sudan and nearly two million have been displaced, totaling a third of the country’s population, with UN humanitarian officials anticipating that extreme hunger threatens half the country’s population.

(ST)