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The South Sudanese government on Friday condemned an armed attack on a U.N. compound sheltering internally displaced persons (IDPs) in Bor, provincial capital of Jonglei State.
"We strongly condemn this incident. Whether it's the youth or IDPs who died, these are all South Sudanese. The government of South Sudan does not condone this," Foreign Minister Barnaba Marial Benjamin told a press conference in Juba.
"We will investigate this together with UNMISS [the UN mission in South Sudan] and even with the A.U. [the African Union] if they come in," he said.
Flanked by Interior Minister Aleu Ayieny Aleu and Information Minister Michael Makuei, Benjamin called on the South Sudanese to avoid violence.
"I am appealing to the people in Jonglei to live in peace. The South Sudan government has taken steps and this thing will be handled responsibly," he said.
At least four people were killed Thursday and many others injured in clashes between U.N. peacekeepers guarding the U.N. compound in Bor and young armed demonstrators who had allegedly been trying to present a petition to U.N. officials.
Makuei, the information minister, said his government was still awaiting a report on the clashes from the U.N. mission.
"The government has not yet received final figures from UNMISS, but the genesis of the problem goes back to the capture of Bentiu," he said, adding that the IDPs' celebration of Bentiu's capture "amounted to a provocation."
Makuei said the petition concerned allegations that river barges associated with the U.N. mission were transporting military equipment, which, it alleged, had stopped in Bor en route to Malakal.
"Another reason for the petition was because barges moving from here [Juba] were being sent to Malakal by UNMISS," he said. "Authorities in Bor didn't accept the barges to go through, because they were already leaving the government-controlled areas and moving into rebel areas."
Makuei added: "There was nothing wrong with taking them, but the youth were not happy; they [the equipment] could fall into rebel hands, so they petitioned this."
-Unrest-
Interior Minister Aleu Ayieny Aleu blamed the peacekeepers for shooting the youth in an attempt to disperse them.
"Shooting in the air is a very provocative situation. You don't control by shooting in the air. It has actually moved the democratic process into a situation where we have lost lives," he said.
The minister also heaped blame on the country's politicians for South Sudan's current woes.
"These armed vigilantes are a product of what politicians developed in Juba and have taken them to the civil population," he said.
South Sudan has been shaken by violence since last December, when President Salva Kiir accused his sacked vice president, Riek Machar, of trying to overthrow his regime.
The conflict has already claimed more than 10,000 lives, with the U.N. estimating that some one million South Sudanese have been displaced by the violence.
"We ask the E.U. and IGAD to come and help us to get the truth. The situation is getting bad," Aleu lamented.
Meanwhile, the UNMISS strongly condemned Thursday's clashes near the U.N. compound.
"UNMISS strongly condemns the deadly and unprovoked attack on its base in Bor… by a mob of armed civilians," it said in a statement.
The statement accused the protesters of forcing their way into the site and opening fire on the IDPs inside.
"UNMISS emphasizes the primary responsibility of South Sudanese authorities to protect all its population and maintain public order," the statement read.
"[UNMISS] calls on the national, state and local authorities to investigate this tragic episode thoroughly and bring to justice the perpetrators of these heinous murders," it added.
"The mission reaffirms its determination to use all necessary means to protect civilians facing violence, to protect U.N. personnel and assets, and to defend itself in keeping with its mandate," the U.N. mission asserted.
englishnews@aa.com.tr
By Okech Francis - Cuba
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