Politics
15:33, 16-Jul-2017
Peacekeepers in South Sudan rescue aid workers attacked by gunmen
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United Nations peacekeepers in South Sudan have rescued more than a dozen aid workers after they were attacked by gunmen. The troops helped evacuate members of the medical charity Doctors Without Borders from the town of Pibor.
The UN mission in South Sudan, known as UNMISS, said that a contingent of Indian peacekeepers went to the aid of more than a dozen humanitarian workers who had come under "heavy fire from unknown gunmen."
UN estimates put those who carried out the assault at about 40 offenders. They are believed to have fired about 150 shots using automatic weapons.
The peacekeepers fired warning shots before the attackers fled, allowing the troops to evacuate the aid workers from the compound.
The medical charity "strongly condemned" the attack, which it labeled as an armed robbery. It was reported that some of its workers were threatened with guns during the attack and office equipment was stolen.
Doctors Without Borders has now decided to partially withdraw its teams from the area, while it reassesses the security situation in the town.
The UN has noted on a number of occasions that aid workers are often targeted amid the frail security situation in South Sudan.