UN Peacekeeping troops prepare to withdraw from South Sudan civilian protection camps

United Nations on Friday, September 4 announced that it has started withdrawing its peacekeeping troops from civilian protection camps in South Sudan. According to the reports, the troops were stationed in the African nation to help people amidst the civil war and sheltered more than 180,000 people two years after the conflict ended.

While speaking to the pres, UN special representative David Shearer said that the volunteers must shift to other hotspots where hundreds of people have been killed this year due to intercommunal violence. 

The UN special representative said, "It’s a significant withdrawal of numbers for us" and further said that generally a group of 150 soldiers is assisted by one or two groups of police to keep a vigil at the camps. He also added that noone will be forced to leave the camps assuring South Sudan's government to take responsibility of their safety and security. 

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Almost 400,000 people killed

South Sudan's five-year-long civil war has killed almost  400,000 people. The conflict started in just two years of South Sudan gaining independence. The civilian camps have witnessed several attacks and atrocities against women. 

As per reports, the United Nations has stated that it is still not clear how long will the process take for the complete withdrawal of forces but it has begun at the camps in Wau and Bo. The other camps are in Malakal, Bentiu, and the capital Juba. Moreover, the mission has said that South Sudan’s police will be responsible for law and order once the UN peacekeepers have left. 

There has been a major concern over crowding at these camps amid the COVID-19 pandemic. The UN mission data is reported to have marked that more peacekeepers have died this year due to illness but it was not clear how many died from COVID-19.

(With AP inputs)

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