Khartoum: The United Nations on Friday accused South Sudan`s rebel and government forces of targeting one of its bases sheltering civilians during a flareup of fighting, and demanded that those responsible face justice.
Senior peacekeeping official Edmond Mulet told reporters that 22 shells had hit the base in Melut, in Upper Nile State, over the past two days, killing eight civilians, in what could amount to a war crime.
Mulet said he had been in touch with both the government and the rebel sides to urge them to "stop targeting UN premises and our protection sites" and stressed that the field commanders "know where the protection site is."
A formal note has been sent to the UN Security Council over the violence targeting the UN base at Melut, which is sheltering 1,600 civilians.
A UN investigation is under way to determine who fired at the compound, said Mulet, the assistant secretary-general for peacekeeping.
"We want to know who is responsible," Mulet said.
The base is being protected by some 150 UN police and military personnel, but most of the non-essential civilian staff have been evacuated.
UN officials have asked the government of President Salva Kiir and rebel chief Riek Machar to "re-direct their fire" and reminded them that targeting UN premises is a violation of international humanitarian law, he said.
On Wednesday, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon branded the upsurge of fighting in Upper Nile and Unity states as "unacceptable" and called on all sides to immediately halt fighting.
The world`s youngest nation, South Sudan has been torn by conflict since December 2013 when Kiir accused Machar of attempting a coup.
The Security Council threatened in March to impose sanctions on those who obstruct peace and adopted a resolution that sets up a committee to begin work on the measures, but no action has been taken.
The United Nations is seeking to beef up African mediation efforts after several failed attempts at reaching a peace deal, with the European Union, China, the United States and Britain expected to step in.
South Sudan is a top-agenda issue at the African Union summit to be held in Johannesburg on June 14-15.
The war has left over half of the country`s 12 million people in need of aid, with 2.5 million people facing severe food insecurity, according to the UN.
