More UN peacekeepers needed for South Sudan

UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon wants 1 100 extra peacekeepers to be sent to South Sudan to help protect civilians who continue to face attacks despite a peace deal signed three months ago.
Ban made the request in a report to the Security Council last week that paints a pessimistic picture of the conflict in the world’s youngest nation.
Breaches of the ceasefire by both the government and rebel forces “call into question their commitment to the peace process and the political buy-in for the implementation of the peace
agreement,” said the report obtained by AFP on Tuesday.
Ban recommended that 500 additional military troops and 600 police be deployed to South Sudan, along with 13 helicopters and transport planes to quickly move peacekeepers across the country.
The UN chief also requested a field hospital in Bentiu, where nearly 100 000 people have taken refuge in the UN base, and an upgraded medical facility in Juba to provide essential emergency services.
South Sudan descended into war in December 2013 when President Salva Kiir accused his sacked deputy Riek Machar of planning a coup.