Dutch general to report on UN response to South Sudan attacks

PIC: Makeshift graves are seen at the UN House for the internally displaced persons in the Jebel area in Juba on July 22, 2016. AFP Photo/Charles Atiki Lomodong

A retired Dutch general will lead an independent investigation to establish whether UN peacekeepers failed to protect civilians during heavy fighting in South Sudan's capital last month, the UN announced Tuesday.

Major General Patrick Cammaert will present a report within one month to UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and the findings will be made public, the UN spokesman said.

UN troops in South Sudan have come under heavy criticism for allegedly failing to protect civilians including women and girls raped near a UN base when fighting engulfed the capital Juba in early July.

The United Nations says it has documented at least 200 cases of rape in July alone by men in uniform, mainly troops loyal to President Salva Kiir.

Ban last week announced that he would launch an investigation of reports that peacekeepers failed to come to the aid of civilians during the fighting and will also look into a separate attack on a hotel in Juba.

South Sudanese soldiers allegedly gang-raped women, assaulted aid workers and shot a local journalist during the July 11 attack at the Terrain Hotel in Juba while peacekeepers reportedly failed to act.

The investigation will determine whether the UN peacekeeping mission in South Sudan, known as UNMISS "responded appropriately to prevent these incidents and protect civilians within its resources and capabilities at the time," said UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric.

Tens of thousands of civilians have been sheltering at eight designated sites protected by UNMISS peacekeepers since the war began in December 2013.

The UN Security Council this month authorized the deployment of a regional force of 4,000 troops under UNMISS command that will ensure security in Juba and help protect UN bases.

Juba was rocked by several days of heavy fighting in early July between Kiir's government forces and those loyal to ex-rebel chief Riek Machar.

Machar fled the capital during the violence and the Sudanese government announced Tuesday that he had arrived in Khartoum for medical treatment.