The United States has strongly condemned a targeted attack last month in which South Sudanese soldiers raped several foreign aid workers and murdered a journalist at a hotel in the capital, Juba.

Samantha Power, the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, called on officials in South Sudan to investigate the incident and hold those responsible for what she called the “cowardly and brutal assaults” accountable.  She said the South Sudan government routinely allows troops to commit murder and sexual violence with impunity.

“Attacks against brave individuals attempting to help the people of South Sudan are attacks against humanity itself. All innocent civilians deserve protection,” she said in a statement.

“It is especially reprehensible that the perpetrators appear to have targeted those who came to South Sudan despite risks to their own personal safety to help the country and its people – thereby depriving the South Sudanese people of urgently needed assistance and compounding this man-made humanitarian crisis.”

The attack, which occurred on July 11, lasted for nearly four hours at the Terrain hotel complex, a residential area full of foreigners and tourists. A report put together by the hotel’s owner and reviewed by the Associated Press alleges that at least five women were raped during the incident and details reports of torture and mock executions.

According to the report, people within the compound began contacting a nearby U.N. command center and the U.S. embassy for help almost immediately after between 80 and 100 men stormed the complex, but their pleas for help were received with indifference. One witness who requested help from several different U.N. battalions said all refused to intervene.

When asked why the U.N. ignored calls for help, Farhan Haq, a spokesman for the U.N. secretary-general, said they “take this incident very seriously,” and the U.N. would investigate it further.

Power said she also called for an investigation into why U.N. peacekeeping forces failed to respond to the pleas for help.

“We are deeply concerned that United Nations peacekeepers were apparently either incapable of or unwilling to respond to calls for help. We have requested and are awaiting the outcome of an investigation by the United Nations and demand swift corrective action in the event that these allegations are substantiated,” she said.

According to Power, the U.S. embassy did respond to distress calls from the compound and coordinated a response with South Sudanese government officials.

South Sudanese security forces eventually rescued all but 16 people who were being held. The rest were rescued the next morning by a private security force.
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