UN chief fires South Sudan peacekeeping commander

The UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon on Tuesday sacked the commander of the peacekeeping force in South Sudan following a damning report showing failure to protect civilians during recent violence in Juba.
The report from a UN special investigation found that a lack of leadership in the UN mission culminated in a “chaotic and ineffective response” during the heavy fighting in the capital from July 8 to 11.
Peacekeepers abandoned their posts and failed to respond to pleas for help from aid workers under attack in a nearby hotel, according to a summary of the report.
The UN mission known as UNMISS has 16,000 troops deployed in South Sudan, which has been at war since December 2013.
“The special investigation found that UNMISS did not respond effectively to the violence due to an overall lack of leadership, preparedness and integration among the various components of the mission,” said UN spokesperson Stephane Dujarric.
Chinese peacekeepers abandoned their positions at least twice and Nepalese peacekeepers failed to stop looting inside the UN compound, the inquiry found.