6 January 2014 - To boost UNMISS bases with personnel and equipment in tackling the crisis in South Sudan, three helicopters had been deployed to the national capital Juba, a UN spokesperson said in New York today.

Speaking to journalists, Farhan Haq said deploying the Bangladesh military helicopters on temporary loan from the UN peacekeeping mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (MONUSCO) was part of a plan to double UNMISS forces to nearly 14,000.

Following the fighting that began on 15 December in Juba and spread to other states, leaving an estimated 1,000 people dead and tens of thousands displaced, the UN Security Council authorized an increase in UNMISS armed strength to protect civilians affected by violence.

Mr. Haq also revealed that relief supplies available for 9,000 civilians seeking refuge in the UNMISS Bor compound were running low.

“The resupply of the UNMISS Bor base is becoming a critical issue,” he said. “Medical capacity continues to be severely overstretched.”

UNMISS was urging both government and anti-government forces to cooperate to allow resupply flights, he said.

He also noted that humanitarian partners had raised some $100 million of$166 million needed to bring in additional supplies and staff to assist an estimated 628,000 people in need over the next three months.

Exchange of fire on 4 December in Juba had resulted in 1,000 more civilians taking shelter in the UN House base, while another shooting incident near the mission's second base on 5 December also led to an increase of the number of people seeking refuge there, Mr. Haq added.

The Spokesperson said UN officials had repeatedly called for a cessation of violence and political solution to the conflict, including accountability for grave human rights violations, but UNMISS had observed signs of mobilization of troops on both sides.

He noted efforts to reach a political solution in the Ethiopian capital Addis Ababa, where representatives of President Salva Kiir and former deputy president Riek Machar are participating in talks mediated by the Intergovernmental Authority on Development.

Topping the agenda were an immediate cessation of hostilities, the release of all political detainees, political dialogue and humanitarian access, he said.