Angry youth attacked UN police personnel in Bentiu camp on Tuesday, during another eruption of violence at one of the UN ‘protection sites’ in South Sudan.
Approximately 47,000 civilians are concentrated into a fenced, low-lying and flood-prone area in Bentiu, under UN guard, unable to leave owing to racially targeted violence. Some residents have been there for up to ten months.
Aid workers say that youth idleness and frustration have been growing problems at protection sites including the Bentiu camp, which is inhabited by members of the Nuer ethnic group.
The UN spokesperson in New York on Wednesday reported, “Yesterday, UN police personnel were attacked at the Bentiu site by civilians armed with machetes, steel rods and spears, while they intervened to break up fighting among youth groups.”
Five of camp residents sustained minor injuries. The spokesperson did not say whether any UN police were injured.
Overall, the UN Mission in South Sudan is protecting more than 102,000 civilians in its camps.
File photo: About 47,000 people are concentrated into the Bentiu ‘protection site’ owing to racial targeting