South Sudan: The United Nations announces independent high-level probe into Malakal events

The United Nations will convene an independent high-level board of inquiry to conduct an in-depth investigation into how the UN responded last month to deadly violence in the town of Malakal, in northern South Sudan,

UN News Center reported.Speaking to reporters in New York, UN spokesperson Stéphane Dujarric said the focus of the inquiry 

would be on how the UN Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS) responded to clashes on 17 and 18 February in its protection of civilians site – a situation where civilians seek protection at existing UN bases amid fighting.

Visiting Malakal a week after the incidents, Kyung-wha Kang, Assistant Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Deputy Emergency Relief Coordinator, said that civilians who had sought safety at the site had been attacked, killed, traumatized and displaced once more, with the entire site, including medical clinics and schools, completely and systematically burnt down and destroyed. 

Source: MENA