UN sends more peacekeepers to South Sudan as violence spreads

REPUBLIKA.CO.ID, NEW YORK - The UN Security Council approved plans on Tuesday to almost double the number of peacekeepers in South Sudan in an effort to protect civilians as reports of mass graves fueled fears of a worsening of ethnic bloodletting in the world's newest state.

The 15-member council unanimously authorized a plan by UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon to boost the strength of the force in South Sudan to 12,500 troops and 1,323 police, as some 45,000 civilians seek protection at UN bases.

The additional personnel will reinforce UN bases where civilians are seeking shelter. However Ban warned that "even with additional capabilities, we will not be able to protect every civilian in need in South Sudan."

Violence erupted in the capital Juba on December 15 and quickly spread, dividing the land-locked country of 10.8 million along ethnic lines of Nuer and Dinka. South Sudan seceded from Sudan in 2011 under a peace agreement to end decades of war.

Western powers and east African states, keen to prevent more chaos in a fragile region, have tried to mediate between President Salva Kiir, a Dinka, and rebel leader Riek Machar, a Nuer, who was vice president until Kiir sacked him in July.

The fighting is affecting oil production in South Sudan, which accounts for 98 percent of government revenue. Petroleum Minister Stephen Dhieu Dau said output had fallen by 45,000 barrels per day to 200,000 bpd after Unity state oilfields shut down.

Most fighting has involved Dinka and Nuer factions of the Sudan People's Liberation Army, with militias and marauding youths also reported to be attacking rival ethnic groups. Kiir and Machar both have said the conflict is political, not tribal.

Earlier, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay said a mass grave believed to contain the bodies of 75 ethnic Dinka soldiers had been discovered in the rebel-held city of Bentiu, capital of Unity state.

The UN mission in South Sudan, known as UNMISS, said in a statement later on Tuesday that it could not confirm the report of a mass grave. It said reports now suggested that "this is an inflation of a skirmish resulting in about 15 fatalities, with details to be confirmed."