Secretary General Ban Ki-moon said late Tuesday he was “concerned about allegations that UNMISS did not respond appropriately to prevent this and other grave cases of sexual violence committed in Juba”.
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One female victim told the Associated Press that she was raped by 15 South Sudanese soldiers during the attack last month at a residential compound in Juba that is popular with foreigners.
In an incident on July 11 also reported by the Associated Press news agency, HRW said the government troops carried out an assault at a residential compound housing worldwide organizations, where they killed a local Nuer journalist, raped or gang-raped several foreign women, and beat and robbed people.
One female aid worker interviewed by the Associated Press said a soldier pointed an AK-47 at her and demanded she have sex with him. She didn’t really have a choice.
“Despite some reports of failures to protect civilians as per their mandate, for everyone living inside the United Nations camps, the UN’s presence in South Sudan means protection and safety”, said Al Jazeera’s Hiba Morgan, reporting from South Sudanese capital Juba”.
Witness have accused other embassies and the U.N.’s peacekeeping force of failing to come to their aid amid the July 11 attack on the Terrain Hotel Complex. “The U.N., the US embassy, contacting the specific battalions in the U.N., contacting specific departments”, said the woman raped by 15 men. The fighting that has also been dotted with rape incidences has left hundreds dead and more than 70,000 refugees.
Records collected by the AP show that the U.N. Joint Operations Center in the South Sudanese capital of Juba was contacted about the attack at 3:37 p.m., just minutes after it began.
“We kill you! We kill you!” the soldiers shouted, according to a Western woman in the bathroom.
“The U.S. and the United Nations gambled on close relations with Salva Kiir, and it turns out that Salva Kiir in an untrustworthy partner who hates the United Nations and increasingly hates the U.S”, Gowan said.
He said South Sudan is still waiting for regional leaders to meet in Juba to discuss the deployment of troops under the Protective Force Brigade recently endorsed by the UN Security Council.
In response, the USA deputy ambassador to the U.N.on Friday accused South Sudan’s government of blocking the work of the United Nations mission.
It followed days of fighting between government troops and forces loyal to sacked Vice President Riek Machar.
“A year after South Sudan’s leaders signed a peace deal, civilians are dying, women are being raped, and millions of people are afraid to go home”, said Daniel Bekele, Africa director at Human Rights Watch.
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After initially vowing to reject the force, South Sudan has said that it will consider accepting the expanded force, if it can negotiate on the size, mandate and contributing countries.
