SOLLIMS Sampler Special Edition, May 2017 | Page 9

- On 17 February , the fencing along the eastern perimeter was ripped open near Block P , a Dinka area in Sector 2 , less than 10 meters from an UNMISS sentry post . UNMISS failed to repair the fencing .
- When the rock throwing and other small-scale violence broke out between the Dinka and Shilluk youth in the evening of 17 February , UNMISS – to its credit – deployed both the FPU and the Quick Response Force ( QRF ) to the area between Sectors 1 and 2 ; the situation briefly calmed .
- However , fighting resumed around 10:30 p . m . within Sector 2 . Starting with rocks , spears , and machetes , the situation quickly deteriorated , as people from the Dinka side of the camp began to open fire with guns and grenades . There were casualties on both sides . After midnight , a fire was started in the corner of Block W , consuming several shelters and a restaurant in the Nuer section of the camp . UNMISS did not engage to stop the violence .
- By 3 a . m . on 18 February , fighting had subsided within the camp . When the situation was then quiet for 7 + hours afterwards , this would have been an opportune time for UNMISS to carry out certain activities to prevent further violence – such as inserting a force inside Sector 2 , patrolling the sectors , repairing the fence , and holding talks with IDP community leaders and local authorities . Yet , UNMISS failed to take action . Had UNMISS inserted an armed presence in Sector 2 , such action could have potentially kept fighters from all groups from launching another round of violence .
- At 10:20 a . m ., UNMISS sentries reported that there were SPLA soldiers amassing outside . Men “ in SPLA uniforms ,” also seen the previous night outside the perimeter , entered the breach in the fencing between 10:20 and 11 a . m . Fighting then resumed at an even greater intensity than the previous night . Dinka fighters and men “ in SPLA uniforms ” rampaged across the camp for several hours , firing on civilians and burning homes ( Nuer and Shilluk sections ), two humanitarian clinics , and other structures . UNMISS forces continued to sit between Sectors 1 and 2 – despite the fact that fighting was concentrated inside Sector 2 .
- When the men in “ SPLA uniforms ” entered the POC site between 10:20 and 11 a . m ., thousands of IDPs streamed toward Charlie Gate in an effort to get into an area where they felt they would be safer . However , UNMISS kept Charlie Gate closed , including by positioning a tank directly behind it . Civilians ’ desperation grew . They pounded on the gate and begged to be let through . Many climbed over the fence and suffered injuries from the barbed wire . The IDPs then pushed open Charlie Gate from the inside . One could ask , “ Why didn ’ t UNMISS take action to open Charlie Gate and try to control the flow of IDPs ?”
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