South Sudan's President Salva Kiir has appealed for calm and pledged his country would "not go back to war", after a UN helicopter was attacked and a crew member killed on a rescue mission on Friday.
A fragile power-sharing agreement between President Kiir and First Vice President Riek Machar has been threatened in recent weeks by clashes between their allied forces in the northeastern Upper Nile State.
The UN Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS) said its team was attempting to extract members of the South Sudanese army from the area when their helicopter came under fire, killing a crew member and seriously injuring two others.
A South Sudanese army general and other officers were killed in the failed rescue mission, UNMISS said in a statement, adding that the incident may constitute a war crime.
‘Barbaric act’
Kiir urged citizens to remain calm. "I have said it time and again that our country will not go back to war. Let no one take law into their hands,’’ he said.
"The government which I lead will handle this crisis. We will remain steadfast in the path of peace," he added.
South Sudan, the world's youngest country, ended a five-year civil war in 2018 with a power-sharing agreement between bitter rivals Kiir and Machar.
It follows the spread of videos depicting the alleged killings of South Sudanese nationals in Sudan.
But Kiir's allies have accused Machar's forces of fomenting unrest in Nasir County, Upper Nile State in league with the so-called White Army, a loose band of armed youths in the region from the same ethnic Nuer community as the vice-president.
Late Friday local media reported a statement from the office of Vice President Machar which condemned the "barbaric act".
Arrests of officials
Efforts to "restore peace in the region remain a top priority," the statement added, with Machar "continuing to engage all stakeholders to prevent further violence."
"The attack on UNMISS personnel is utterly abhorrent and may constitute a war crime under international law," said head of UNMISS Nicholas Haysom.
"We also regret the killing of those that we were attempting to extract," he added. UN Secretary-General spokesperson Stephane Dujarric urged an investigation "to determine those responsible and hold them accountable".
A government garrison in the region was overrun by the rebels on Tuesday, the information minister told reporters earlier this week, adding that a general and several soldiers had survived the attack and were still fighting the rebels.
Kiir's government responded with multiple arrests of Machar's allies in the capital Juba, including Petroleum Minister Puot Kang Chol, deputy army chief General Gabriel Duop Lam and Peacebuilding Minister Stephen Par Kuol.
