The UN mission in South Sudan to focus on protecting civilians

The U.N. Security Council has changed the mandate of the U.N. peacekeeping mission in South Sudan to focus on the protection of civilians, instead of on nation building. The unanimous vote by the 15-member council on Tuesday follows months of fighting between troops loyal to President Salva Kiir and those loyal to his former vice-president Riek Machar. The resolution revised and extended the existing UN Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS) mandate to address the security, political and humanitarian crisis in the country. South Sudan's Ambassador to the UN, Francis Deng, says more emphasis should have been placed on state-building. UNMISS has been protecting up to 80,000 civilians who have sought refuge at its bases around the country, ever since violence began in late December 2013.

An initial cease-fire in January failed and a second cease-fire on 9 May has led to a tense standoff in the country. U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon urged President Kiir and Mr. Machar to implement the cease-fire agreements without further delay and resolve their dispute. The eight-nation East African regional bloc known as IGAD has decided to send cease-fire monitors to South Sudan. Under the new resolution, the monitors and IGAD soldiers who will protect them, will become part of the U.N. peacekeeping mission.