UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has sacked the commander of a peacekeeping force in South Sudan following a damning report that accused the blue helmets of failing to protect civilians during an outbreak of violence in July.
The report from a UN special investigation found that a lack of leadership in the UN mission, known as UNMISS, culminated in a "chaotic and ineffective response" during the heavy fighting in the capital Juba from July 8 to 11 that killed dozens of people.

Peacekeepers abandoned their posts and failed to respond to pleas for help from aid workers under attack in Terrain Hotel, less than a mile from a UN compound, according to the report. Around 12,000 UNMISS peacekeepers were in the country at the time.
Ban's spokesman, Stephane Dujarric, said the UN chief had "asked for the immediate replacement of the force commander", Lieutenant-General Johnson Mogoa Kimani Ondieki.