VZCZCXRO5118
OO RUEHROV
DE RUEHKH #0709/01 0791247
ZNY CCCCC ZZH
O 201247Z MAR 06
FM AMEMBASSY KHARTOUM
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 1963
INFO RUCNIAD/IGAD COLLECTIVE PRIORITY
RHEHNSC/NSC WASHDC PRIORITY
RHEFDIA/DIA WASHDC PRIORITY 0049

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 KHARTOUM 000709 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 03/20/2016 
TAGS: PINS PGOV ASEC MOPS PREF EAID OGIV SU UN
SUBJECT: DEADLY ATTACK ON UNHCR COMPOUND IN YEI 
 
 
Classified By: POL Eric Whitaker for reasons: Section 1.4 (b) and (d) 
 
¶1.  (SBU) Summary:  In what appears to be a botched robbery, 
three bandits killed one guard and critically wounded two 
UNHCR staff in the UNHCR Compound in Yei on March 15.  During 
the attack, one of the assailants was killed and another 
wounded.  SPLA forces reportedly detained two persons, but 
released them, leading to speculation that they were 
associated with the SPLA.  All SPLA forces in Yei had been 
paid their first salaries when the incident occurred.  Some 
UNMIS officials think that SPLA training has become an urgent 
issue.  The attack has raised the security ante for 
humanitarians, et al, working in the South, and sent a chill 
through the international community here.  End summary. 
 
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Compound Attacked 
----------------- 
 
¶2.  (U) At 2120 hours on March 15, three bandits armed with 
AK-47 rifles came through the bamboo fence backing the UNHCR 
compound in Yei, Western Equatoria State, and confronted an 
international employee, demanding that he give them USD 500. 
When he said he did not have the sum in question, they 
entered another room and demanded the same of the occupants 
there.  When they did not comply, the bandits shot to death a 
local security guard and critically wounded another UNHCR 
local employee, Justin Duku, as well as Iraqi logistics 
officer Abdullah Navid.  Duku was shot in the leg and Navid 
in the abdomen and buttocks. 
 
¶3.  (SBU) Although officially unarmed, early reports were 
that two other UNHCR security guards seized weapons hidden in 
the guard shack and returned fire, killing one bandit and 
wounding a second in the leg.  The UN is now saying that 
their guards were not armed, as the UNHCR has a strict no 
weapons policy for all its facilities and vehicles.  The 
surviving pair escaped, and a contingent of SPLA forces 
arrived shortly thereafter to pursue the attackers.  The two 
wounded UNHCR staff members have been medevaced by helicopter 
to Juba. 
 
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Who Dunnit? 
----------- 
 
¶4.  (SBU) The dead bandit is in the mortuary in Yei, but has 
not been positively identified.  According to UNMIS, the SPLA 
detained two men and UNMIS requested that it hold the men 
until their nationality and identity could be determined. 
The SPLA, however, released the suspects on insufficient 
evidence.  A senior UNMIS official expressed outrage at this 
action, saying that it would encourage the usual "LRA did it" 
rumors to start.  There is speculation that the two, in fact, 
were members of the SPLA.  UNMIS expects that the wounded 
bandit will eventually have to seek medical treatment, and 
hope to identify him at that time. 
 
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And Why? 
-------- 
 
¶5.  (SBU) UNMIS has long reported growing unhappiness within 
the SPLA over unpaid salaries but noted that this would not 
have been the motive in Yei:  both JIU and other SPLA units 
there have been paid.  The UNMIS sector commander has 
reported that while SPLA disaffection may have abated, 
drunkenness and indiscipline have become serious problems 
around Yei. 
 
¶6.  (C) UNMIS Head of Office James Ellery told Consul General 
Juba that he is concerned that SPLA indiscipline will only 
grow unless the international community provides meaningful 
training for the SPLA.  He emphasized that this was his own 
view, but that he had raised the possibility of UN 
involvement in military training at higher levels within the 
UN.  Ellery noted that UNCIVPOL was already actively involved 
in training police in the South. 
 
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Comment 
------- 
 
¶7.  (SBU) While it is too early to speculate on exactly who 
the attackers were, it is nonetheless obvious that the 
security environment in the South remains tenuous.  We 
continue to receive reports of incidents from various areas 
of southern Sudan involving military and militia forces of 
all stripes. 
 
 
 
KHARTOUM 00000709  002 OF 002 
 
 
¶8.  (C) The initial UNHCR report was that its guards had 
weapons, and that the SPLA did not respond until after the 
incident was over.  Now, several days later, the official 
story is that an SPLA soldier responded quickly and shot the 
attackers.  The UNHCR now states that its guards did not, in 
fact, violate the "no weapons" policy that it rigorously 
enforces.  This may just be the result of a thorough 
investigation clarifying the situation. 
 
¶9.  (SBU) The incident has spread a palpable chill among the 
humanitarian community in the South.  Yei is a major hub of 
humanitarian operations, and the UNHCR compound has been used 
by a significant number of visiting humanitarians and other 
visitors, including ambassadors and senior UN officials.  In 
light of this incident, Embassy Khartoum will review in 
collaboration with USAID procedures for USG visitors 
traveling in the South, and look closely at issues relevant 
to the security of the Consulate General in Juba. 
STEINFELD