UNITED NATIONS: All 20 UN peacekeepers detained by rebels in South Sudan have been released. However, the rebels are still holding 12 UN contractors, said UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric.
‘A UN barge carrying fuel was traveling on the Nile river north of Malakal on Oct 26 when it was blocked in Kaka by over 100 heavily armed men affiliated with the SPLA-in Opposition who detained the peacekeepers and crew and looted the fuel,’ he said.
Dujarric said the UN mission is calling on rebel leader Riek Machar to immediately release the South Sudanese crew unharmed and unhurt and return the barge and weapons and equipment belonging to the peacekeepers.
He stressed that attacks on peacekeepers and other UN staff can constitute war crimes.
