The UN Secretary-General, Ban ki-Moon, has asked for an immediate replacement of the force commander of UNMISS over the failure of the mission to protect civilians during the clashes in Juba in July.

The spokesperson of Mr Ban ki-Moon made the announcement at a daily press briefing at the UN headquarters in New York on Tuesday.

In a statement, Stephane Dujarric says Mr Ban asked for the immediate replacement of Lt. Gen. Johnson Mogoa Kimani after a special UN investigation found that the mission did not respond effectively during the violence in Juba in July.

“UNMISS did not respond effectively to the violence due to an overall lack of leadership, preparedness and integration among the various components of the mission,” the statement read.

“Command and control arrangements were inadequate, while peacekeepers maintained a risk-averse posture.”

According to the report, these factors contributed to the failure of UNMISS to respond to the attack on the Terrain camp on the 11th July and to protect civilians under threat.

It also found that UNMISS faced an extremely challenging set of circumstances and was caught in the crossfire of an active and particularly violent conflict.

The UN says some conservative estimates indicate that at least 73 people were killed, including more than 20 internally displaced persons in the UN camp in Juba. Two peacekeepers were killed and several more were injured.

However, Mr Dujarric says the investigation was unable to verify allegations that peacekeepers failed to respond to acts of sexual violence committed directly in front of them on 17 and 18 July.

He said the Secretary-General is deeply distressed by these findings.

The removal of the force commander comes days after the head of the mission, Ellen Magrathe Loj, announced she would leave the office at the end of November.