Amnesty says UN and South Sudan authorities ignored warnings before deadly attack on civilians

In a report published late on Wednesday evening, Amnesty notes that there had been warning signs for weeks that insurgents were preparing to attack civilians.

On March 1, between 1,000 and 1,500 armed men attacked a town near the border with Sudan. Houses were burned and hospitals were looted.

The number of people killed in the massacre was 213, according to the authorities.

At the scene of the massacre, in the town of Abiemnom, there were about 30 peacekeepers from the UN mission UNMISS. Despite warnings, the UN mission was not reinforced, and the government avoided deploying resources, Amnesty writes:

“Their failure to act more forcefully cost many lives.”