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Attack on U.S. Aircraft Foils Evacuation in South Sudan Attack on U.S. Aircraft Foils Evacuation in South Sudan
(about 1 hour later)
WASHINGTON — United States aircraft flying into a heavily contested region of South Sudan to evacuate American citizens were attacked on Saturday and forced to turn back without completing the mission, American officials said. Four service members were wounded, one seriously.WASHINGTON — United States aircraft flying into a heavily contested region of South Sudan to evacuate American citizens were attacked on Saturday and forced to turn back without completing the mission, American officials said. Four service members were wounded, one seriously.
South Sudan officials said the attack had been carried out by rebel forces. South Sudanese officials said the attack had been carried out by rebel forces.
President Obama had sent 45 American servicemen to South Sudan to “support the security of U.S. personnel and our embassy,” he said on Thursday. Previous evacuation flights had been organized in Juba, the capital, but the aborted mission on Saturday appeared to be the first into rebel-held territory. The aborted mission to Bor, the capital of Jonglei State, was the first American military incursion into rebel-held territory in the country. Previous evacuation flights had been organized in Juba, the capital.
The military sent three CV-22 Ospreys — tilt-rotor aircraft that can fly like an airplane and land like a helicopter — to evacuate American citizens from a United Nations compound in Bor, the capital of Jonglei State. The United States has not said how many Americans were there or whether they were in immediate danger. President Obama said on Thursday that he had sent 45 American service members to South Sudan to “support the security of U.S. personnel and our embassy.”
As the aircraft approached the town, “they were fired on by small-arms fire by unknown forces,” the military said in a statement. All three aircraft were damaged. The Obama administration has not said how many Americans are trapped in Bor, whether they are in imminent danger or what options Mr. Obama is considering to evacuate them.
Afterward, the mission was aborted and the Ospreys flew about 500 miles to Entebbe, Uganda. One United States service member was seriously wounded and taken to Nairobi, Kenya, where he was said to be in surgery on Saturday evening. Three others were reported to have minor injuries, American officials said. Some 14,000 civilians are reported to have sought refuge at a United Nations base in Bor. It is surrounded by 2,000 armed youths, spurring fears that the base may be overrun and the lives of aid workers threatened.
As South Sudan has been racked by attacks, there have been mounting concerns about the plight of 35,000 civilians who have sought sanctuary at United Nations peacekeeping bases in the country. Some 14,000 civilians are reported to have sought refuge at a base in Bor that is surrounded by 2,000 armed youths, spurring fears that the base may be overrun and the lives of aid workers there threatened. Armed youths seized a United Nations base in another town, Akobo, last week, killing at least 13 people, including two United Nations peacekeepers.
American officials had little to say about the plight of the civilians remaining at the United Nations compound, including Americans. On Saturday, the American military sent three CV-22 Ospreys — tilt-rotor aircraft that can fly like an airplane and land like a helicopter — to Bor to evacuate American citizens from the United Nations compound. As the aircraft approached the town, “they were fired on by small-arms fire by unknown forces,” the military said in a statement. All three aircraft were damaged.
On Friday night, Secretary of State John Kerry issued a statement saying that he had called Salva Kiir, the president of South Sudan, to urge him to “protect all South Sudanese citizens and work toward reconciliation.” The mission was aborted and the Ospreys flew about 500 miles to Entebbe, Uganda. The service member who was seriously wounded was taken to Nairobi, Kenya, where he was said to be in surgery on Saturday evening. Three others had minor injuries, American officials said.
“Now is the time for South Sudan’s leaders to rein in armed groups under their control, immediately cease attacks on civilians and end the chain of retributive violence between different ethnic and political groups,” Mr. Kerry said in his statement. “The violence must stop, the dialogue must intensify.” As attacks have racked South Sudan, there has been mounting concern about the safety of 35,000 civilians who have sought sanctuary at United Nations peacekeeping bases in the country.
To encourage such efforts, Donald E. Booth, the United States’ special envoy for Sudan and South Sudan, left for the region on Friday. “The situation in Bor is very dire,” said Catherine Howard, the deputy head of the United Nations’ humanitarian affairs office. “Humanitarians are unable to operate safely. People have been uprooted. There is looting.”
Mr. Obama met with his top security officials on Saturday morning in Hawaii, where he is on vacation with his family. The White House said he was briefed on the status of the wounded troops, and on the safety of American citizens in Bor and embassy personnel in Juba.
The White House said that Mr. Obama “reaffirmed the importance” of working with the United Nations to secure American citizens in Bor, and that South Sudan’s leaders had “a responsibility to support our efforts to secure American personnel and citizens in Juba and Bor.”
On Friday night, Secretary of State John Kerry said that the United States’ main focus was on seeking a diplomatic solution to the crisis.
“Now is the time for South Sudan’s leaders to rein in armed groups under their control, immediately cease attacks on civilians and end the chain of retributive violence between different ethnic and political groups,” Mr. Kerry said in a statement. “The violence must stop, the dialogue must intensify.”
To encourage such efforts, Donald E. Booth, the United States’ special envoy to Sudan and South Sudan, left for the region on Friday.
A Pentagon official said that Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel was reviewing additional options presented by Gen. David M. Rodriguez, the head of the United States Africa Command, to support the humanitarian mission in South Sudan. He did not provide details.
Bor is in an especially violent region that is no longer controlled by government forces, according to Col. Philip Aguer, a spokesman for the South Sudan military.Bor is in an especially violent region that is no longer controlled by government forces, according to Col. Philip Aguer, a spokesman for the South Sudan military.
President Kiir, a member of the Dinka ethnic group, has attributed the violence to an attempted coup by a former vice president, Riek Machar, who is a member of the rival Nuer ethnic group. President Salva Kiir, a member of the Dinka ethnic group, has attributed the violence to an attempted coup by former Vice President Riek Machar, who is a member of the rival Nuer ethnic group.
Earlier this week, Mr. Obama sent troops to protect the American Embassy in Juba. The United States has also organized flights to evacuate American citizens from the capital, as have European nations. The United States has organized flights to evacuate American citizens from the capital, as have European nations.
But thousands of civilians remain at risk, as do United Nations peacekeepers. The danger was underscored by an attack on Thursday in which 2,000 armed youths of Nuer ethnicity overran a base in the town of Akobo, killing Dinka civilians and two Indian peacekeepers who tried to protect them. But thousands of civilians remain at risk, as do United Nations peacekeepers. In the attack in Akobo, 2,000 Nuer youths took over the base, killing Dinka civilians and two Indian peacekeepers who tried to protect the civilians.
Hilde F. Johnson, the top United Nations official in the country, said in a written statement, “I deplore this unjustified and unwarranted attack on the United Nations Mission base in Akobo, killing peacekeepers that were here to protect civilians and serve the people of South Sudan.” The United Nations peacekeeping force includes about 6,800 soldiers and 700 police officers.
The United Nations peacekeeping force in the country is formally known as the United Nations Mission in South Sudan, or Unmiss. It has about 6,800 soldiers and 700 police officers. Analysts and aid officials warned that the fighting could represent the beginning of a very dangerous ethnic conflict in South Sudan, which was born after one of the late 20th century’s bloodiest wars.
The United State Africa Command has responsibility for the region. It issued a terse statement Saturday morning on the attempted evacuation at Bor. “Day by day we are moving closer to a civil war,” said Casie Copeland, an analyst at the International Crisis Group, a research and advocacy institution. “We are seeing reports of horrific ethnic violence.”
“We can confirm that three U.S. service members were injured today from gunfire directed at their aircraft in South Sudan,” the statement said. “The aircraft was participating in a mission to evacuate American citizens in Bor. After receiving fire from the ground while approaching the site, the aircraft diverted to an airfield outside the country and aborted the mission. The injured troops are being treated for their wounds.” Conditions inside the United Nations base in Bor are deteriorating, Ms. Copeland said, and the South Sudanese civilians and foreign aid workers taking shelter there are in grave danger.

Reporting was contributed by Isma’il Kushkush from Khartoum, Sudan; Lydia Johannesburg, South Africa; and Eric Schmitt and Thom Shanker from Washington.  

“We have the U.N. in very tenuous positions, protecting large number of civilians with a very small number of troops,” she said.
Troops from neighboring Uganda and Kenya have started to arrive in South Sudan, ostensibly to help protect civilians and restore order. But in a region where civil wars easily become regional conflicts, analysts expressed worry that the addition of foreign troops to the mix, particularly if they take sides, could make things worse.

Reporting was contributed by Isma’il Kushkush from Khartoum, Sudan; Lydia Polgreen from Johannesburg; and Eric Schmitt and Thom Shanker from Washington.