UN Chief vows to investigate S Sudan human rights violations

UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon today commended the bravery of Indian peacekeepers who fought nearly 2,000 rebels in an attack on a UN base in South Sudan and vowed to investigate incidents of grave human rights violations.
Two Indian soldiers Warrant Officers Dharmesh Sangwan and Kumar Pal Singh were killed when the rebel Lour Nuer youth attacked the UN base in the Jonglei state town of Akobo on December 19.
A third soldier Indian Battalion Warrant Officer Mondal Shabul was wounded in the chest during the attack and was flown to Malakal where he was reported to be in stable condition.

The UN Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS) held a memorial ceremony over the weekend in Juba for the two Indian Battalion peacekeepers killed in the attack.
"UNMISS is protecting civilians at its bases, supporting humanitarian deliveries, monitoring the human rights situation and investigating reports of abuses. We have lost two peacekeepers in the past week and one was wounded. I commend our brave peacekeepers, as well as the mission's staff and leaders," Ban told reporters here.
He said the world is watching all sides in South Sudan and attacks on civilians and the UN peacekeepers deployed to protect them must cease immediately.

"The United Nations will investigate reports of grave human rights violations and crimes against humanity. Those responsible at the senior level will be held personally accountable and face the consequences - even if they claim they had no knowledge of the attacks," Ban said.

He pledged full UN support to the people of South Sudan.
"The United Nations stood with you on your road to independence," he said.
"We will stay with you now. I know that the current situation is causing great and growing fear. You are seeing people leave the country amid increasing chaos. The United Nations will stay with you," he assured the people.

"We will do our utmost to protect you, to provide the humanitarian assistance you need, and most of all to help the country regain the path to peace," the UN Secretary General said.
Ban had called a crisis meeting of his top advisers on the deteriorating situation in South Sudan and proposed reinforcing the United Nations peacekeeping force in the troubled nation in a bid to stem a conflict increasingly marked by ethnically targeted killings.
"I am determined to ensure that UNMISS has the means to carry out its central task of protecting civilians," he said.