---------- Forwarded message ---------- From: "John Ashworth" <[email protected]> Date: 18 Aug 2016 11:55 Subject: [sudans-john-ashworth] UN Sec Gen launching special investigation into Terrain Hotel attack To: "Group" <[email protected]> Cc:
1. UN Launches Investigation Into Peacekeepers’ Response To South Sudan Attack UN peacekeepers are accused of failing to respond to an attack on a Juba hotel by uniformed men who killed a journalist and raped several civilians. 08/17/2016 06:25 am ET Huffington Post By Michelle Nichols UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon launched an investigation on Tuesday into accusations peacekeepers in South Sudan failed to respond properly to an attack on a Juba hotel by uniformed men who killed a journalist and raped several civilians. Ban was “alarmed” by the initial findings of a U.N. fact-finding mission into the attack on the Hotel Terrain on July 11 during an outbreak of fighting between troops loyal to President Salva Kiir and those backing former Vice President Riek Machar. The secretary-general was “concerned about allegations that UNMISS (the U.N. peacekeeping mission in South Sudan) did not respond appropriately to prevent this and other grave cases of sexual violence committed in Juba,” Ban’s spokesman said. Ban has launched an independent special investigation to determine the circumstances surrounding the incidents and evaluate the overall response by the U.N. peacekeeping mission, the spokesman said in a statement. U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations, Samantha Power, said on Monday: “We are deeply concerned that United Nations peacekeepers were apparently either incapable of or unwilling to respond to calls for help.” The “U.S. embassy in South Sudan responded to distress calls from the compound and urgently contacted South Sudanese government officials, who sent a response force to the site to stop the attack,” she said in a statement. Hundreds of people were killed and the United Nations said government soldiers and security forces executed civilians and gang-raped women and girls during and after last month’s fighting. South Sudan rejected the accusations. “The Secretary-General reiterates his outrage over the acts of violence committed by the SPLA (South Sudanese army) and opposition forces in Juba from 8 to 11 July,” said the U.N. spokesman. Ban urged the government to investigate all human rights violations and prosecute those responsible, he said. Human Rights Watch said on Monday it had uncovered evidence of the cold-blooded execution of civilians by security forces during the fighting. It also found evidence of soldiers raping civilians. The U.N. Security Council authorized on Friday the deployment of a 4,000-strong protection force to ensure peace in Juba as part of the U.N. mission and threatened an arms embargo if the government did not cooperate. U.N. peacekeepers have been in the oil-producing country since it gained independence from Sudan in 2011. South Sudan descended into civil war after Kiir dismissed Machar as his deputy. They signed a peace deal in August 2015, but implementation was slow and sporadic fighting continued. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/south-sudan-attack_us_ 57b43796e4b04ff883997ab7 END1 2. South Sudan: UN chief launching special investigation into July hotel attack UN News Centre 17 August 2016 – Alarmed by preliminary findings on the 11 July attack on a hotel in Juba, South Sudan, in which one person was killed and several civilians were raped and beaten by men in uniform, United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has decided to launch an independent special investigation to examine this and other incidents and evaluate the overall response by the UN mission there. According to a statement issued last night by Mr. Ban's spokesperson, the Secretary-General is alarmed by the preliminary findings of a UN fact-finding investigation into the attack on Hotel Terrain in the nation's capital, and concerned about allegations that UN Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS) did not respond appropriately to prevent this and other grave cases of sexual violence committed in Juba. The statement said that the Secretary-General has decided to launch the special investigation “due to the gravity of these incidents, related allegations and the preliminary findings by UNMISS.” Also in the statement, the UN chief reiterated his outrage over the acts of violence committed by the government and opposition forces in Juba from 8 to 11 July, during which many South Sudanese civilians and two UN peacekeepers were killed. “The Secretary-General urges, once more, the Government of South Sudan to investigate these human right violations and to prosecute those involved in these unspeakable acts of violence,” the statement said. http://www.un.org/apps/news/story.asp?NewsID=54695#.V7V0Jd_I5Nw END2 3. Statement attributable to the Spokesman for the Secretary-General on South Sudan (Terrain) 17 Aug 2016 Spokesperson of the UN Secretary-General The Secretary-General is alarmed by the preliminary findings of a fact finding investigation by the United Nations Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS) into the attack on Hotel Terrain in Juba on 11 July, in which one person was killed and several civilians were raped and brutally beaten by men in uniform. The Secretary-General is also concerned about allegations that UNMISS did not respond appropriately to prevent this and other grave cases of sexual violence committed in Juba. Due to the gravity of these incidents, related allegations and the preliminary findings by UNMISS, the Secretary-General has decided to launch an independent special investigation to determine the circumstances surrounding these incidents and to evaluate the Mission’s overall response. The Secretary-General reiterates his outrage over the acts of violence committed by the SPLA and opposition forces in Juba from 8 to 11 July, during which many South Sudanese civilians and two UN peacekeepers were killed. The Secretary-General urges, once more, the Government of South Sudan to investigate these human right violations and to prosecute those involved in these unspeakable acts of violence. New York, 16 August 2016 http://unmiss.unmissions.org/statement-attributable- spokesman-secretary-general-south-sudan-terrain-0 END3 4. “There’s no Delta Force Residing at the Embassy” BY PAUL MCLEARY, ADAM RAWNSLEY AUGUST 17, 2016 - 7:57 AM Foreign Policy What happened in Juba, South Sudan on July 11? A few things we know for certain: Forces loyal to South Sudanese President Salva Kiir stormed a compound in the capital city and beat, robbed, tortured, and raped dozens of aid workers for hours. Despite frantic calls from the victims to U.N. troops nearby, and the U.S. Embassy, no one came to help until it was too late. The U.N. is launching an investigation into why it’s forces refused to help, and a senior U.S. official told FP that “we didn’t have the personnel with the mission or the capacity to respond to such a wide-scale event. Our response was to engage the government that had the capability to do so.” FP’s Colum Lynch, Dan De Luce and Paul McLeary have much more on the attack and its political fallout, writing the incident marks “a grim moment in a long-standing U.S. effort to help South Sudan achieve its independence from the Arab-dominated Sudanese government in Khartoum. The violence highlighted the degree to which South Sudanese President Salva Kiir has evolved from a valued U.S. friend to the leader of a rampaging army that has now targeted American nationals.” http://foreignpolicy.com/2016/08/17/situation-report- fallout-from-south-sudan-attack-russia-says-syria- strikes-legit-nsa-hack-aleppo-burning-and-lots-more/ END4 ______________________ John Ashworth [email protected] +254 725 926 297 (Kenya mobile) +211 919 695 362 (South Sudan mobile) +44 787 976 8030 (UK mobile) +88 216 4334 0735 (Thuraya satphone) Skype: jashworth1 PO Box 52002 - 00200, Nairobi, Kenya This is a personal e-mail address and the contents do not necessarily reflect the views of any organisation -- -- The content of this message does not necessarily reflect John Ashworth's views. Unless explicitly stated otherwise, John Ashworth is not the author of the content and the source is always cited. 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