UN Resident Representative Toby Lanzer told journalists that the crash probe that started on Wednesday continues to move on quickly to analyze and establish the downing of the helicopter.
Mr Lanzer revealed that the crash already affected Mission’s operations, following immediate grounding of flights to Bentiu.
He said air transport is the only way to Bentiu at the moment and that they are engaging with the government and the SPLM/A in opposition to resume flights to Bentiu as soon as possible to save lives.
The Resident Representative explained that the helicopter downing happened ten kilometres southwest of Bentiu town, an area he described as ‘contested’ by government and opposition forces.
Mr Lanzer lamented that it was difficult to tell who was at the area at the very time and day the incident happened, hoping that the probe would show the truth.
The official recounted gun downing of UN helicopter, killing Russian citizens in Likwangole of Pibor Area with impunity in 2012 by the national army.
Tuesday’s incident locked the government and opposition in accusations’ trade against each other on downing.