South Sudan’s President Salva Kiir has pleaded for calm after seven army soldiers were killed during a UN evacuation attempt in the turbulent Upper Nile state.
President Kiir stated that an army general who had been injured during a previous evacuation attempt was killed when a UN helicopter was shot at.He stated a second chopper took off following the attack but crashed, killing everyone on board.
“I’m appealing to you to remain calm. I have said it time and again that our country will not go back to war,” the President told the nation in a statement.
He assured that he will not allow the country to plunge further into chaos as a result of the incident.
“Let no one take law into their own hands, and I assure you that the government, which I lead will handle this crisis. We will remain steadfast in the path of peace,” Kiir said.
He expressed his condolences to the families of the General and his troops. “They have died in the service of our nation, and they shall forever remain in our hearts. May their soul rest in peace. And once again, I call for calm nationwide.” Kiir stated that on Friday, two UN helicopters traveled to Nasir in Upper Nile and came under intense fire while transporting the General and staff.
He claimed the General died during the raid. “I’m, therefore, informing the nation that in this process we have lost General Majur Dak Thel and the officers,” he said.
“Only one pilot and a crew member survived. One of the planes managed to take off, however, it crashed landed in Malakal and killed all the passengers.” Kiir stated that General Majur Dak Thel chose to be evacuated last during a previous expedition on March 6, during which 11 officers were rescued.
The UN stated that the attack on its helicopter “may constitute a war crime.” Weeks of violence in Upper Nile have jeopardized Kiir’s already fragile peace agreement with Vice President Riek Machar.
In 2013, a schism between the two launched a five-year civil war that killed 400,000 people and forced 2.5 million to flee their homes. A peace agreement was made in 2018, but the situation has remained tense ever since. A new Kenya-brokered cease-fire conversation known as the “Tumaini Initiative” is currently underway in Nairobi, as gunfire rages in areas seized by Machar-allied White Army rebels.
The White Army is an ethnic group that sided with Machar when the violence broke out in 2013.
