5 UN troops, 7 others slain in South Sudan

JUBA, South Sudan: Armed rebels that South Sudan believes are backed by Sudan opened fire on a UN convoy yesterday, killing five UN peacekeepers from India and up to seven civilians, officials said.
South Sudan’s military spokesman, Col. Philip Aguer, blamed the attack on fighters led by David Yau Yau, a rebel leader South Sudan’s military has battled for months.
Aguer confirmed the deaths of five UN peacekeepers from India in the attack, and said five civilians also died. However, a UN official who demanded anonymity because of UN rules put the civilian death toll at seven.
A UN spokesman, Liam McDowall, confirmed that peacekeepers were killed. He declined to give numbers.
Aguer said the attack took place on a convoy traveling between the South Sudanese towns of Pibor and Bor yesterday morning.
“Definitely this attack was carried out by David Yau Yau’s militia,” Aguer said. “They have been launching ambushes even on the SPLA for about six months now,” he said, using the acronym for South Sudan’s military.
The head of the UN mission in South Sudan, Hilde Johnson, condemned the killings of the UN peacekeepers in a brief statement.