AFP, Juba :
Warring forces in South Sudan traded blame Wednesday for the crash of a UN helicopter in which three crew died, although investigations have yet to confirm if it was shot down.
The helicopter crashed Tuesday some 10 kilometres (six miles) from the northern oil town of Bentiu, one of the worst-hit areas in the civil war that has roiled the young country for more than eight months. A UN team was investigating the wreckage of the Mi-8 helicopter on Wednesday, but have made no comment on the cause of the crash, in which three were killed and one wounded.
The crew members were reportedly all Russian, according to the UN.
Army spokesman Philip Aguer said rebels “shot it down”, but provided no further evidence. Rebel spokesman Mabior Garang, son of South Sudan’s first president John Garang who died in a helicopter crash in 2005, dismissed the claims as “malicious allegations”.
