A South Sudanese general and dozens of soldiers have been killed after a United Nations helicopter trying to evacuate them from the northern town of Nasir came under attack, the government has said.
The UN said the incident, which could deal a blow to an already fragile peace process, was “utterly abhorrent” and a possible war crime.
A power-sharing agreement between President Salva Kiir and First Vice-President Riek Machar has been threatened in recent weeks by clashes between their allied forces in the north-eastern Upper Nile state.
The UN crew was trying to airlift soldiers after heavy clashes in Nasir between national forces and the so-called White Army, a militia that Kiir’s government has linked to forces loyal to Machar, his bitter rival.
Read more here.
