By Lodu William Odiya
The United Nations Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS) has strongly condemned an ambush on its peacekeepers in Western Equatoria State on Wednesday 3 September, 2025.
According to a press statement from the UNMISS, the incident occurred while peacekeepers were on patrol between the towns of Tambura and Mapuse.
“The United Nations Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS) condemns yesterday’s ambush of its peacekeepers in Western Equatoria State by element of a local armed group, who subsequently seized a small cache of weapons and ammunition” the statement partly read.
UNMISS echoed that its peacekeepers are deployed to protect civilians in a region where security remains fragile, particularly in and around Tambura.
The mission emphasized that armed groups must not target its personnel furthermore, the statement warned that any attack against peacekeepers may constitute a war crime.
Despite the incident, UNMISS affirmed its commitment to continue conducting patrols across the country as part of its mandate to protect civilians.
The United Nations Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS) is a United Nations peacekeeping mission for South Sudan, which became independent on 9 July 2011.
UNMISS was established on 8 July 2011 by United Nations Security Council Resolution 1996 (2011).