UN peacekeepers in South Sudan did not do enough to protect civilians during the July violence in Juba between the SPLA and the SPLM in Opposition forces, according to a report by Amnesty International.

The rights group says UN Peacekeepers abandoned their positions during the fighting when they came under fire in one site of their camp in Jebel Kujur, leaving civilians undefended.

The human rights watchdog says UN Police in one incident shot teargas canisters into a crowd of frightened civilians.

Some civilians have been at the UN bases in different parties of the country since the conflict started in 2013. In July this year, some also ran there to seek protection.

In a report, Amnesty International describes the UN response to the crisis as ‘disappointing and inadequate’.

The report suggests that the peacekeepers stood by as some people were raped and others killed.

“UN forces faltered in their mission to protect civilians, standing by as people were killed and raped,” said Joanne Mariner, Amnesty International’s Senior Crisis Response Adviser.

Some 300 hundred civilians are reported to have been killed in the July violence.

Amnesty International’s findings are similar to those of the Center for Civilians Control based in the US.

The CIVIC has criticized how UNMISS peacekeepers acted during the violence, saying they failed civilians who fled to their bases in search for protection.

Eye Radio’s efforts to reach UNMISS for a comment on the report from Amnesty International has not been immediately successful.

But in response to the CIVIC report, the UN in headquarters in New York said it was investigating the reports of failure to protect civilians.