SPLA threatened UN peacekeepers at gunpoint in Bor when they refused soldiers to enter the UN compound where thousands of civilians have been sheltering since fighting broke out in mid December between the SPLA and a defected army division loyal to former vice president Riek Machar.

On Sunday the spokesperson of the UN Secretary-General, Ban Ki Moon, condemned the threats, saying the UN chief is in particular alarmed at the attempt on Sunday by senior members of the Government of South Sudan and South Sudan army to force entry into the ‘Protection of Civilians site’ at the compound of the United Nations Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS) in Bor.

According to the spokesperson, the incident was just one of a growing number of violations of the Status of Forces Agreement between the UN peacekeeping mission and the government of South Sudan. He said that the government is “making it increasingly difficult for UNMISS to implement its mandate and dangerous for United Nations staff working in South Sudan.”

Photo: South Korean soldiers provide water at a camp in Bor, 26 Dec. 2013 (Yonhap News Agency)