A helicopter operated by the UN Mission in South Sudan came under heavy fire while attempting evacuation following clashes between SSPDF and a militia group.

A crew member was killed and two others were injured when a United Nations helicopter on an evacuation mission in a remote part of South Sudan was attacked.

Speaking at a press conference in Juba, Kiir urged calm and reaffirmed his commitment to peace. “The government that I lead will handle this crisis. We will remain steadfast in the path of peace,” he said.

FILE - South Sudan President Salva Kiir, left, and First Vice President Riek Machar, right, shake hands after meetings in Juba, South Sudan, Oct. 20, 2019. Kiir appealed for calm after a U.N. helicopter was attacked and a crew member killed during a Friday rescue mission.

The aircraft came under fire as it tried to rescue wounded soldiers, the United Nations said. The attack came amid fears that a critical power-sharing deal was at risk of collapse, risking all-out civil war.

A South Sudanese general and dozens of soldiers were killed on Friday when a United Nations helicopter trying to evacuate them from the northern town of Nasir came under attack, the government said. The United Nations said the incident,

One crew member died when a UN helicopter was shot at, a statement from its mission in South Sudan, Unmiss, said. It added that an injured South Sudanese general and several other troops were also killed during the evacuation attempt in Upper Nile state.

A UN helicopter has been shot at in South Sudan with deaths recorded. The head of the UN Mission in South Sudan, said the attack may constitute a war crime.

A United Nations helicopter attempting to evacuate South Sudanese troops came under fire in the northern town of Nasir on Friday, the U.N. mission there said, resulting in the death of a crew member and several soldiers including a general.