UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon has 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.

Five Indian Army personnel, including a Lt Colonel were killed yesterday and four injured during the UN peacekeeping mission when their 32-member convoy was attacked in Gurmuck in the volatile state of Jonglei.

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.

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.