World · Africa · 1 hr ago
Amnesty says UNMISS failed to act on warnings before South Sudan massacre
Amnesty says UN peacekeepers and South Sudanese authorities failed to act adequately on warnings before a deadly attack in South Sudan.
On March 1, 1,000 to 1,500 armed men attacked Abiemnom, a remote area near the border with Sudan.
At least 213 people were killed, including residents, security personnel and foreign nationals, according to authorities.
UNMISS said it had limited resources and focused on protecting and providing medical care to about 2,500 people sheltering at its base.
The attack came amid renewed fighting that has weakened a 2018 agreement ending five years of civil war, with local violence also linked to land access and cattle raiding.
Amnesty is calling for an independent investigation and a public review of how the peacekeepers responded.
The UN Security Council renewed UNMISS’s mandate in April but reduced its authorized troop ceiling from 17,000 to 12,000.
Amnesty International says UN peacekeepers and South Sudanese authorities failed to act adequately on warnings before an attack killed at least 213 people in Abiemnom.
The March 1 attack was carried out by between 1,000 and 1,500 armed men from neighbouring Mayom County, according to Amnesty.
The rights group says UNMISS knew an attack was likely but did not reinforce its roughly three dozen peacekeepers in the area until afterward.
UNMISS says it focused its limited resources on protecting and providing medical care to about 2,500 people sheltering at its base.
Amnesty called for an independent investigation into the killings and a separate public review of the peacekeepers’ response.
- Who
- Amnesty International says UNMISS peacekeepers and South Sudanese authorities failed to act adequately; armed men from Mayom County carried out the attack.
- What
- An attack killed at least 213 people, according to South Sudanese authorities.
- When
- March 1, earlier in 2026.
- Where
- Abiemnom, near the border with Sudan, in South Sudan.
- Why
- Amnesty said the attack may have been triggered by unresolved killings of several young men from Mayom County in Abiemnom.
Amnesty International
UNMISS
Preventive action
Amnesty International
UNMISS knew an attack was likely and had enough time and information to act more effectively, Amnesty said.
UNMISS
UNMISS said it did its best with limited resources and focused on protecting civilians sheltering at its base.
Reinforcements
Amnesty International
Amnesty questioned why additional personnel were deployed only after the attack.
UNMISS
UNMISS said it repeatedly asked the national army to deploy additional security forces after receiving early warnings.
UNMISS was aware that tensions in the area had been high, its spokesperson said.
Between 1,000 and 1,500 armed men from Mayom County attacked Abiemnom, according to Amnesty.
UNMISS sent 40 additional police personnel to the area.
Amnesty’s report on the attack was released.
- Death toll
- At least 213, according to South Sudanese authorities
- Attackers
- Between 1,000 and 1,500 armed men from Mayom County
- Displaced people sheltered
- Roughly 2,500 people at a protected area established by UNMISS
- Structures destroyed
- More than 230, according to satellite imagery cited by Amnesty
- UNMISS police reinforcements
- 40 personnel sent after the attack
3 sources
What people are saying
Both the government and UNMISS had sufficient information and time to take more effective preventive action. Their failure to take stronger action cost lives.
concentrated its available capacity on immediate protection of civilians seeking refuge within our base rather than dispersing limited forces across tasks they could not safely sustain simultaneously.