United Nations peacekeepers have been restricted to the Equitorias and anything south of Juba, the UNMISS force commander said.
It is one of many restrictions that the UN has reported after fighting erupted on July 8th. Other restrictions include mandating that all UN officials provide 72 hours notice that they will be entering the country and confiscating passports.
“Our presence is restricted because of the safety that is not guarantee by the operating forces in those areas” said Lt Gen.Johnson Ondieki in an audio statement posted on the UNMISS website.
On Friday, the United Nations Security Council is expected to vote on a resolution to send regional peacekeepers to South Sudan. But the comments by Ondieki seem to suggest that UNMISS would be capable of doing the job if they were granted more access.
“We have all the necessary required force that can be abel to protect the people of South Sudan who are under imminent danger, but it has stretched the capacity we have” he said. In the areas the government has been allowed to reach, he claimed they have carried out their mandate.
Responding to critics that UNMISS was unable to protect civilians, he said that “the first responsibly of the protection of civilians is the responsibility of the government,”
Ondieki has been the UNMISS commander for roughly two months.