Armed men ambush a patrol in South Sudan and kill 2 UN peacekeepers

JUBA, South Sudan (AP) — Armed men ambushed a patrol traveling to a remote area of South Sudan on Monday, killing two U.N. peacekeepers, the United Nations Mission in South Sudan said. Though violence is rampant in the African country, attacks against peacekeepers are rare.

No group immediately claimed responsibility for the attack. Seven others were wounded — three peacekeepers, two members of the South Sudanese police and two civilian staffers, the mission known as UNMISS said in a statement. The two peacekeepers killed and three injured were from Ethiopia, U.N. spokesperson Stéphane Dujarric said.

The mission said it had deployed a “Quick Reaction Force” to secure the area and support the emergency response after the attack. The patrol was going to the area of Pajut in the state of Jonglei when it came under attack.

“Such deadly violence targeting UNMISS personnel who are serving to support peace in South Sudan is unacceptable,” Anita Kiki Gbeho, the head of UNMISS, said in the statement.

The killings bring the number of peacekeepers killed by militias since Jan. 1 to nine, Dujarric said, stressing that attacks against U.N. peacekeepers may constitute war crimes under international law.

U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres condemned the ambush “in the strongest possible terms” and called for a prompt investigation that would lead to the prosecution of those responsible, Dujarric said later Monday.

“The secretary-general reaffirms the United Nations’ commitment to stand with the victims and their families during this profoundly difficult time,” the spokesman said.

Government troops in South Sudan have been combating fighters and militias loyal to opposition leader Riek Machar, who was suspended last year as vice president as he faces charges of treason and other offenses. Machar says the charges are politically motivated.

A 2018 peace deal between President Salva Kiir and Machar, who is under house arrest, has collapsed, leading to fears of a return to full-blown civil war.

Between January and July, more than 450 incidents of violence against humanitarian workers and assets were reported, more than double the number recorded during the same period last year, according to U.N. figures.

The conflict escalated in December when opposition forces seized government outposts in Jonglei. The government has been carrying out a counteroffensive since January, with aerial bombardments and ground assaults, despite an official commitment to the peace agreement.

The United States has urged for talks between Kiir and Machar. Earlier this year, it called for “urgent action to uphold peace and mitigate the risk of civil war through an immediate return to dialogue among the parties to the 2018 peace agreement.”

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Associated Press writer Edith M. Lederer at the United Nations contributed to this report.