JUBA, South Sudan (AP) — A crew member was killed and two others were injured when a United Nations helicopter on an evacuation mission in a remote part of South Sudan was attacked on Friday, the U.N. mission in South Sudan said.
The attack took place in the Nasir area of South Sudan’s Upper Nile state, the UNMISS said in a statement said. It said the helicopter “came under fire,” providing no other details.
It added that many of the government troops being evacuated were also reportedly killed.
Trusted news and daily delights, right in your inbox
See for yourself — The Yodel is the go-to source for daily news, entertainment and feel-good stories.
The evacuation was part of UNMISS efforts to de-escalate political tensions and prevent violence in Nasir, it said.
Nasir has seen violence in recent days as government troops battle an armed group, known as the White Army, that some believe is allied with South Sudanese Vice President Riek Machar.
The fighting in Nasir threatens a 2018 peace deal signed between Machar and his rival, President Salva Kiir, to end a five-year civil war in which more than 400,000 people were killed.
Government troops earlier this week surrounded Machar’s home in the capital, Juba, and several of his allies were arrested after the White Army overran an army base in the country’s north. Deputy army chief Gen. Gabriel Duop Lam was among those detained earlier this week.
The UNMISS statement urged “all actors to refrain from further violence and the country’s leaders to urgently work together to resolve tensions.”
