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Bodies of Russian Pilots Killed in S. Sudan Helicopter Crash Flown Home - Reports

© RIA Novosti . Yulia TroitskayaRussian peacekeepers' helicopter on a mission in Sudan
Russian peacekeepers' helicopter on a mission in Sudan - Sputnik International
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United Nations South Sudan aid chief Toby Lanzer described a “deep sense of shared sadness” while speaking to colleagues who had gathered at the airport in Juba, South Sudan around the coffins of three dead helicopter crewmen, which were draped in UN flags.

MOSCOW, August 30 (RIA Novosti) - United Nations South Sudan aid chief Toby Lanzer described a “deep sense of shared sadness” while speaking to colleagues who had gathered at the airport in Juba, South Sudan around the coffins of three dead helicopter crewmen, which were draped in UN flags.

A UNMISS-contracted Mi-8 helicopter was performing a routine cargo flight from Western Bahr El-Ghazal state capital of Wau Tuesday afternoon, when all radio contact with the aircraft was lost. The helicopter crashed about 10 kilometers southwest of the Unity State capital of Bentiu, where it was supposed to land. Three crew members died, one survived.

On Wednesday, the UN Security Council unanimously agreed to Russia’s press statement proposal urging “a swift, thorough and transparent investigation” into the incident and called the attack a grave violation of the Status of Forces Agreement of April 2011.

South Sudan remains volatile. The Republic of South Sudan gained its independence from Sudan in 2011. In December 2013, a political power struggle broke out between President Kiir and his ex-deputy Machar; the president accused Machar of attempting a coup.

More than 800,000 people have been displaced inside South Sudan and more than 250,000 people have fled to neighboring countries such as Kenya, Sudan, and Uganda, as a result of the conflict, according to the March UN report.

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