Prime Minister Manmohan Singh today expressed anguish over the killing of five Indian army personnel during a UN peacekeeping mission in South Sudan.In his condolence message to the bereaved families,he said that he pays tributes to the brave soldiers.

A Lt Colonel was among the five army personnel killed yesterday when their 32-member convoy came under attack in Gumuruk in the volatile state of Jonglei, South Sudan.Four others were injured in the attack.

There are around 2,200 Indian army personnel comprising two battalions, one based in Jonglei and the other in Malakkal, Upper Nile, on the border with Sudan.

Since South Sudan got independence in July 2011, it has witnessed ethnic strife, with Pibor county, the main base of UN peacekeeping force, being the centre of much of the violence.
India is a major contributor to UN peacekeeping forces around the world and has suffered losses in the past.

Earlier, UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon strongly condemned the killing of five Indian Army personnel in an attack on a convoy of a UN mission in South Sudan, saying that such an act is a war crime.

In the statement, Ban said killing of peacekeepers is a war crime that falls under the jurisdiction of the International Criminal Court and the South Sudanese government should bring the perpetrators of the attack to justice.

He also expressed his deepest condolences to the Indian government and to the families of the peacekeepers, staff members and contractors killed in the attack.