The United Nations says SPLA soldiers physically assaulted members of its patrol team and prevented them from travelling to Wonduroba, Central Equatoria, on Wednesday.

In a statement issued in New York, the spokesman of the UN Secretary General, Stephen Dujjaric said the patrol team was stopped at a checkpoint.

He said the army soldiers then ordered both the military and civilian personnel out of the vehicles and assaulted them.

The UN has urged the government to investigate this incident immediately and hold those responsible accountable.

The UN peacekeepers operate under the Status of Forces Agreement between the mission and the government.

However, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs says it has not received any report on the incident.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs says the UN forces are supposed to move with permission from the local authorities, according to the agreement.

“Mostly they are supposed to be moving in the areas of Greater Upper Nile: Bor area and the Bentiu areas, and also some of the area in Bahr el Ghazal, those of Wau and their movement is actually entailed in that SOFA agreement,” said Amb Mawien Makol, spokesperson of the ministry of Foreign Affairs.

“They should not be moving outside distance that is prescribed. If they want to move out from the area assigned to them, they have to do that with permission from the local authorities.

The SPLA is yet to comment on the matter.