UN Extends S. Sudan Peacekeeping Mission for One Year

FILE - In this Friday, Sept. 2, 2016 file photo, United Nations peacekeepers from Rwanda wait to escort members of the UN Security Council as they arrive at the airport in the capital Juba, South Sudan. (AP Photo/Justin Lynch, File)
FILE - In this Friday, Sept. 2, 2016 file photo, United Nations peacekeepers from Rwanda wait to escort members of the UN Security Council as they arrive at the airport in the capital Juba, South Sudan. (AP Photo/Justin Lynch, File)
TT
20

UN Extends S. Sudan Peacekeeping Mission for One Year

FILE - In this Friday, Sept. 2, 2016 file photo, United Nations peacekeepers from Rwanda wait to escort members of the UN Security Council as they arrive at the airport in the capital Juba, South Sudan. (AP Photo/Justin Lynch, File)
FILE - In this Friday, Sept. 2, 2016 file photo, United Nations peacekeepers from Rwanda wait to escort members of the UN Security Council as they arrive at the airport in the capital Juba, South Sudan. (AP Photo/Justin Lynch, File)

The UN Security Council voted Tuesday to prolong its peacekeeping mission in South Sudan for one more year, after Russia and China chose to abstain.

The Council's 13 other members all voted in favor of the resolution, which extends the UN Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS) until March 15, 2023 at its current level of deployment.

The maximum number of UN peacekeeping soldiers for UNMISS is set at 17,000 with an additional 2,100 police officers, AFP said.

The operation is one of the most expensive for the UN, with an annual budget surpassing $1 billion.

China indicated that it was in favor of the extension, but chose to abstain because the United States insisted on including human rights in the resolution's text.

China's deputy ambassador, Dai Bing, called the draft resolution "very unbalanced," a sentiment shared by his Russian counterpart, Anna Evstigneeva, who was disappointed that Moscow's amendments were left out.

The resolution states that the goal of the peacekeeping mission is to "prevent a return to civil war in South Sudan, to build durable peace at the local and national levels, and to support inclusive and accountable governance and free, fair, and peaceful elections."

At a Security Council meeting in early March, the UN and the United States, which played a key role in South Sudan's creation, urged its leaders to move forward with its planned elections, or risk a "catastrophe."

With less than a year to go before the elections, South Sudan risks sliding back into war, the UN warned in February.

The world's youngest country has experienced chronic instability since gaining independence from Sudan in 2011.

Between 2013 and 2018, it descended into a bloody civil war between arch-enemies Riek Machar and Salva Kiir, which left nearly 400,000 dead and millions displaced.

A peace agreement signed in 2018 led to a national unity government that was inaugurated in February 2020, with Kiir as president and Machar as vice president.

Due in part to ongoing feuds between the two rivals, the peace agreement remains largely unimplemented.



Clerics Accuse West Bank Israeli Settlers of Attacking Christian Sites

Latin Patriarch in Jerusalem Pierbattista Pizzaballa walks during the visit of the town of Taybeh, a Christian village in the Israeli-Occupied West Bank, following settler attacks, July 14, 2025. (Reuters)
Latin Patriarch in Jerusalem Pierbattista Pizzaballa walks during the visit of the town of Taybeh, a Christian village in the Israeli-Occupied West Bank, following settler attacks, July 14, 2025. (Reuters)
TT
20

Clerics Accuse West Bank Israeli Settlers of Attacking Christian Sites

Latin Patriarch in Jerusalem Pierbattista Pizzaballa walks during the visit of the town of Taybeh, a Christian village in the Israeli-Occupied West Bank, following settler attacks, July 14, 2025. (Reuters)
Latin Patriarch in Jerusalem Pierbattista Pizzaballa walks during the visit of the town of Taybeh, a Christian village in the Israeli-Occupied West Bank, following settler attacks, July 14, 2025. (Reuters)

Christian leaders accused Israeli settlers on Monday of attacking sacred sites in the West Bank, in violence that one said was forcing some to consider quitting the occupied territory.

The Greek Orthodox Patriarch of Jerusalem, Theophilos III - visiting the Christian town of Taybeh with other Jerusalem-based clerics - said settlers had started a fire near a cemetery and a 5th century church there last week.

"These actions are a direct and intentional threat to our local community ... but also to the historic and religious heritage," the patriarch told diplomats and journalists at a press conference in Taybeh.

Settlers had also attacked homes in the area, he said.

"We call for an immediate and transparent investigation on why the Israeli police did not respond to emergency calls from the local community and why these abhorrent actions continue to go unpunished," he added.

Israel's government spokesperson did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment. Israel's government had previously said that any acts of violence by civilians are unacceptable and that individuals should not take the law into their own hands.

During the visit, the heads of the churches led locals in prayer as candles flickered in the ruins of the 5th century church of St George. They spoke with residents who described their fears.

B'Tselem and other rights groups say settler violence in the West Bank has risen since the start of Israel's war against Palestinian group Hamas in Gaza in late 2023.

Dozens of Israelis have also been killed in Palestinian street attacks in recent years and the Israeli military has intensified raids across the West Bank.

Palestinian health authorities and witnesses said two men, including a US citizen, were killed by settlers during a confrontation on Friday night.

Fears over violence were pushing Christians to leave the West Bank, Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa, the Roman Catholic Patriarch of Jerusalem since 2020, said.

"Unfortunately, the temptation to emigrate is there because of the situation," he added. "This time it's very difficult to see how and when this will finish, and especially for the youth to talk about hope, trust for the future."

Around 50,000 Christian Palestinians live in Jerusalem and in the West Bank, an area that includes many of the faith's most sacred sites including Bethlehem where believers say Jesus was born.

Around 700,000 Israeli settlers live among 2.7 million Palestinians in the West Bank and East Jerusalem, territories Israel captured from Jordan in the 1967 war, which Palestinians see as part of a future state.