The plane came under fire while attempting to rescue wounded soldiers, the UN said. The attack came amid fears that a key power-sharing agreement was in danger of collapsing, threatening a full-scale civil war.
Gunmen attacked a United Nations helicopter on an evacuation mission in a volatile area of South Sudan on Friday, killing one crew member and wounding two others, the United Nations said.
The helicopter crew was trying to rescue wounded South Sudanese soldiers in Upper Nile state in an attempt to defuse tensions in the area, the United Nations said. It added that the wounded soldiers were also killed. It did not say whether the helicopter was on the ground or in the air when it was attacked, but one armed group called the White Army said the shooting began as the men were preparing to board.
The attack comes after days of heightened political tensions in the East African nation, the world's newest, amid growing fears among locals and Western officials that the country is sliding into new civil conflict.
In a speech calling for calm, South Sudanese President Salva Kiir vowed not to let that happen. “Let no one take the law into their own hands,” he said on Friday. “The government I lead will deal with this crisis.”
But critics said Mr Kiir and rival leaders bore primary responsibility for the crisis.
A power-sharing deal between Mr Kiir and his first vice-president, Riek Machar, ended a brutal civil war in 2018; it has teetered on the brink of collapse in recent weeks as forces loyal to both leaders clashed in Upper Nile state.
South Sudan's information minister said 27 soldiers were killed in Friday's helicopter attack, but gave no other details and the figure could not be independently confirmed.
