UN Peacekeepers and South Sudan Authorities Faulted for Inadequate Response to Deadly Attack

Amnesty International has accused the United Nations peacekeeping mission in South Sudan (UNMISS) and local authorities of failing to take sufficient preventive action before an armed attack on a village in March killed at least 213 people, according to a report released Thursday. The attack took place in Abiemnom, a remote area near the border with Sudan, where UNMISS had been warned of an impending assault. Despite this knowledge, the peacekeeping mission did not reinforce the three dozen peacekeepers stationed there until after the attack had occurred.

The assailants, numbering between 1,000 and 1,500 armed men from Mayom County, attacked Abiemnom on March 1, shooting residents, burning homes, and looting part of the hospital, Amnesty reported. The death toll has been estimated at over 200 people, including civilians, security personnel, and foreign nationals.

The attack occurred amid renewed fighting between government forces and opposition groups, weakening a 2018 agreement that ended five years of civil war. Amnesty suspects the March assault may have been triggered by unresolved killings of several young men from Mayom County in Abiemnom. The investigation was based on interviews with survivors, witnesses, medical workers, satellite images, and verified photographs and videos.

UNMISS acknowledges being aware of heightened tensions since mid-February and that people had sought protection at its base in the days before the attack. However, they sent reinforcements after the attack rather than before it, according to Amnesty's findings. The rights group has called for an independent investigation into the killings and a review of UNMISS's response, with both findings made public. Protecting civilians is a central responsibility of UNMISS, but the UN Security Council recently reduced its authorized troop ceiling from 17,000 to 12,000 in April.

The South Sudanese authorities did not respond to Amnesty's letters seeking information and comment on their findings. Government spokesperson Ateny Wek Ateny also did not respond to a request for comment from The Associated Press.