UN Secretary General Ban Ki Moon has announced a special investigation into allegations that the UNMISS peacekeepers did not respond to last month’s attack on a hotel in Juba.

Preliminary findings of a fact finding investigation by UNMISS into the attack on Hotel Terrain on 11 July indicated one person was killed and several civilians were raped and brutally beaten by men in uniform.

According to the Spokesperson of the Secretary General, Mr Ban was alarmed by the initial findings.

Stephanne Dujjaric said Mr Ban was concerned about allegations that UNMISS did not respond appropriately to prevent this and other grave cases of sexual violence committed in Juba.

He said in a statement that Mr. Ban has launched an independent special investigation to determine the circumstances surrounding the incidents and evaluate the overall response by the U.N. peacekeeping mission.

U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations, Samantha Power, said on Monday that they were deeply concerned that United Nations peacekeepers were apparently either incapable of or unwilling to respond to calls for help.

She said the U.S. embassy in South Sudan responded to distress calls from the compound and urgently contacted South Sudanese government officials, who sent a response force to the site to stop the attack.