Ban sacks commander of S Sudan UN peacekeeping ops

UN chief Ban Ki-moon has sacked the head of the world body's mission in South Sudan, citing "lack of leadership and prepardeness", which led to conflicting orders to troops from India, China, Nepal and Ethiopia in tackling violence around its premises in Juba.

Ban's spokesman Stephane Dujarric said on Tuesday that the Secretary-General had asked for the "immediate replacement" of UN Mission in South Sudan Force Commander Lt Gen Johnson Mogoa Kimani Ondieki.

Ban had received the report of the independent inquiry into the response of the mission after violence broke out in an around its premises in the capital Juba in July. 

Ban said he is "deeply distressed" by the report's findings, including that UN Mission in South Sudan did not respond effectively to the violence, which erupted in early July, due to an overall "lack of leadership, preparedness and integration" among the various components of the mission.

"On the uniformed side, the Force did not operate under a unified command, resulting in multiple and sometimes conflicting orders to the four troop contingents from China, Ethiopia, Nepal and India, and ultimately underusing the more than 1,800 infantry troops at UN House," the report said.