United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki Moon is warning that killing UN Peacekeepers is a war crime.  This comes after five peacekeepers and 7 civilians were killed in an ambush in a volatile area of South Sudan.

No group has claimed responsibility.  Ban and the Security Council are calling South Sudan to investigate and bring the criminals to justice.  The perpetrators will come under the jurisdiction of the International Criminal Court (ICC) in the Hague.

It is believed up to 200 militants with automatic rifles and rockets surprised a convoy in Jonglei state, near the border near Sudan.  The peacekeepers from India did not have a chance.  Their bodies are being returned to India.

In recent weeks, the area has been plagued with violence from cattle rustlers, tribal warlords, and insurgent groups.

The attack casts a shadow over peace efforts between Sudan and South Sudan.  The South had just resumed producing oil in hopes of exporting it through Sudan, and the two Presidents were to meet in the South for the first time since the countries separated.