Bentiu

“Women are still a minority in most of the armed forces around the world; and in some ways, that is a privileged position.”.

That’s the view of Lieutenant Colonel Katie Hislop of the United Kingdom who is the only female commander at the UN Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS).

She heads the UK contingent which is responsible for a few engineering projects in the country, including a new hospital in Bentiu.

Only female contingent commander in South Sudan heads new hospital project in Bentiu

A “zero tolerance approach” preventing protection camps in war-torn South Sudan from being militarized is the best way to keep civilians safe.

That’s the view of the head of the UN peacekeeping mission in the country, UNMISS, David Shearer.

He was speaking in Bentiu, in the north of South Sudan, where around 115,000 people are currently living in the Mission’s largest Protection of Civilians site, or POC.

“Serious human rights violations” are continuing in South Sudan and are more serious than previously thought according to a visiting UN Human Rights Commission.

Civil conflict erupted in the African country three years ago leading to the deaths of thousands of people and forcing almost three million more to flee their homes.

During their 10-day visit, the team of three commissioners met with government officials and visited communities displaced by conflict in the capital Juba and the towns of Malakal, Bentiu and Wau.

Philip Wani reports from South Sudan.

Sixty health workers in Bentiu, South Sudan, have been trained in how to address the large numbers of injuries or deaths resulting from conflicts or natural disasters.

The training was conducted by Ghanaian peacekeepers with the UN mission in the country, UNMISS.

Jacob Ruai spoke to the Senior Medical Officer with the Ghanaian battalion, Dr Rilwany Sulley.

He explained why training in handling mass casualties is valuable in a country like South Sudan.

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Traditional Leaders urged to promote peace and reconciliation in South Sudan

Maintaining law and order and ensuring the safety of people in UN bases in South Sudan is a challenging task according to the UN mission in the country, (UNMISS).

Ongoing conflict in South Sudan has driven over two million people from their homes.

One hundred and forty-three thousand are sheltering in so-called UN protection of civilian sites.

UNMISS has stepped up its security patrols in one of the sites in Bentiu, which it describes as a small town.

A lack of basic services as well as continued fighting is driving thousands of people to a United Nations base in the north of the South Sudan, according to the UN mission in the country, UNMISS.

Around 2000 South Sudanese are arriving each week at the UN protection site in Bentiu, a town in Unity State.

Ongoing conflict in the African nation has caused around 1.4 million people to flee their homes.

Regina Gorle asked Arianne Quentier, UNMISS spokesperson, about the latest arrivals.