South Sudan army officer and soldiers arrested in connection with UN staffer's death

A UN staff member was found dead in South Sudan days after being detained by security forces. An officer and soldiers of the South Sudanese army have been arrested, UNN reports with reference to AP.

Details

Army Lt. Lino Mariak Chol and two other soldiers were arrested after confessing to the killing and revealing the location of the body, police spokesman Saninto Udol said. The body was found in a residential area on Thursday.

Bol Roch Mayol, a South Sudanese national, was taken from a UN vehicle by five South Sudanese soldiers on Monday after a routine patrol to a camp for displaced persons on the outskirts of the northern city of Wau. Mayol's vehicle stopped on the side of the road due to a flat tire, Udol said.

"We are devastated by the loss of our colleague," Anita Kiki Gbeho, Deputy Head of the UN Mission in South Sudan, said in a statement on Friday.

Mayol was a language assistant and had worked for the UN Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS) since its inception in 2011.

UNMISS spokeswoman Priyanka Choudhury said that the authorities and the UN mission are trying to establish the exact cause of death.

Choudhury said UNMISS has no indication that the killing was ordered or planned.

Following his arrest on Monday, the UN contacted army command regarding Mayol's whereabouts, and UN officials were invited to visit military detention centers in Wau.

Gbeho stated that the killing was "unacceptable" and called for an immediate and thorough investigation to bring those responsible to justice.

The motive for the killing has not yet been established.

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Addendum

South Sudan has long been one of the most dangerous countries in the world for humanitarian workers, and in 2025 the number of attacks and abductions increased. In the first half of the year, 25 humanitarian workers or contractors were killed or injured, compared to 15 in the same period of the previous year. The vast majority of humanitarian workers who were victims of violence were South Sudanese nationals, the UN reported.

Earlier this month, the United States warned that it could cut foreign aid to South Sudan, accusing the government of imposing exorbitant fees on humanitarian organizations and hindering their activities.

The UN Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS) is scaling back its operations after a 15% budget cut. The cuts come amid a sharp resurgence of fighting that has killed more than 1,000 civilians, some of whom died in indiscriminate bombings or extrajudicial executions committed by security forces, the UN Human Rights Office reported.