On 17 August, alarmed by preliminary findings on the 11 July attack on a the Hotel Terrain in the nation’s capital, in which one person was killed and several civilians were raped and beaten by men in uniform, Mr. Ban chose to launch the independent investigation to examine this and other incidents and evaluate the overall response by UNMISS.
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Riek Machar fled South Sudan’s capital last month amid renewed fighting, just months after he returned to the country to resume being vice president under a peace deal signed previous year under worldwide pressure.
“Sudan has recently received Riek Machar for pure humanitarian reasons, top of them his need for medical treatment”, the agency quoted Ahmed Bilal Osman, Sudan’s Information Minister and government spokesman, as saying.
But Congo’s government last week said that it had no knowledge of Machar being there.
“He is now stable”.
“Dr. Riek Machar’s health is stable now and he will remain in the country under comprehensive health care until he leaves to a destination of his choice to complete his treatment”, he added.
South Sudan was founded with optimistic celebrations in the capital on July 9, 2011, after it gained independence from Sudan in a referendum that passed with close to 100 percent of the vote.
But in December 2013 a brutal civil war erupted in the world’s youngest country between supporters of President Salva Kiir and Machar, after Kiir accused his deputy of plotting a coup.
Ties between Khartoum and Juba have strained since then amid allegations that Sudan backs Machar in the civil war that has killed tens of thousands and forced more than two million from their homes.
The UN Security Council this month authorized the deployment of a regional force of 4,000 troops under UNMISS command that will ensure security in Juba and help protect UN bases.
During a visit to Kenya, U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry urged South Sudan’s leaders to “get the job done” by fully implementing the peace deal or face a United Nations arms embargo and sanctions. “When should it be there?”
Ms Mohamed said a “gradual deployment” would allow troops to reach Juba more quickly.
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“Any number of soldiers that goes in in the name of a protection force would be welcome and would open the door to everything else”, she said. His return was the result of a peace deal signed a year ago under global pressure.
