South Sudan denies shooting down UN aircraft over Jonglei

Dr Barnaba Benjamin thinks opposition groups are behind attack on UN helicopter Sudanese Minister of Information and the official spokesman for the government of South Sudan, Dr Barnaba Benjamin has denied that his country shot down a United Nations aircraft over Jonglei state on Friday .
Speaking to Arabstoday, Benjamin revealed that the South Sudan government is in constant communication with the United Nations to determine the circumstances of the crash. He also admitted to the death of the four Russian crew members on board.
Benjamin said: \"We do not know all the details of the incident, thus we formed an ad-hoc committee to investigate the incident.\"
He denied that Sudanese officials shot down the plane, raising suspicion that opposition groups might be involved. \"The aircraft landed in the area of Jonglei where a militia led by David Yao Yao, the leader of an opposition group to the government of Southern Sudan is active. A helicopter belonging to the government has previously been attacked by these militias,\" he said.
Benjamin said that he did not understand why the UN publicly blamed South Sudan for shooting the plane down. \"We are currently talking with the UN mission to find out why they made that announcement.\"
On Friday, deputy UN spokesman Eduardo del Buey, announced that the army of South Sudan dropped a peacekeeping helicopter exploring the Jonglei state, killing all the four crew members.
It is believed the Sudan People\'s Liberation Army (SPLA) troops fired anti-aircraft guns at the Russian MI-8 believing it was a rebel helicopter carrying weapons to anti-government forces. The helicopter was hit while on a \"reconnaissance flight\" over Jonglei state in eastern South Sudan, del Buey said in New York. \"Initial reports indicated the UN helicopter crashed and burned. The mission immediately launched a search and recovery mission. It has confirmed the death of all four crew members,\" del Buey added.
UN leader Ban Ki-moon said the helicopter was a \"clearly marked\" UN aircraft and paid his respects to the Russia over the deaths. \"The secretary general calls on the government of South Sudan to immediately carry out an investigation and bring to account those responsible for this act,\" a statement said.
Additional reporting: AFP