‘Massacre in Malakal Protection of Civilians or PoC site lasts as a legacy of UN failure’, says M√©decins Sans Fronti√®res or MSF
MSF on Tuesday released a report following the attack on the Malakal PoC site on February 17 and 18.
The report finds that the United Nations Mission in South Sudan or UNMISS failed to safeguard the people living at the site and prevent many losses.
MSF Director of Operations Raquel Ayora says their investigation shows that UNMISS did not fulfil its mandate to protect civilians as set by the Security Council.
He says UNMISS failed to prevent the flow of weapons into the camp and chose not to intervene when initial fighting broke out in the camp.
The Director adds that when an attack came from outside the camp, UNMISS peacekeepers were extremely slow to repel the assault.
MSF’s survey also indicates that over 80 percent of the displaced people feel unsafe inside the site and lost their trust in UNMISS after the February attack.
The survey also shows that insecurity outside the camp was unanimously mentioned by all respondents as the main reason for not leaving the site.
UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon on Wednesday confirmed reported failures of UNMISS during the Malakal attack.
There was confusion with respect to command, control and a lack of coordination among the various civilian and peacekeepers in Malakal at the time of the crisis, he said.