Police confront SPLA deserters and clans clash in Rumbek

October 18, 2008 (PARIS) — Two people were killed and two sustained critical wounds in Lakes State in separate instances of inter-clan fighting and a police battle against army deserters, according to sources in Rumbek.

One fight broke out on Saturday night, killing two people during a gunfire exchange between the twin clans Panyar-Apin and Panyar-Machor at a place called Warawa in southwest Rumbek East County, 32 miles away from Rumbek Central County and about 12 miles from Akot. The location is also known as “Pogic village.”

The reason for the fighting between Panyar-Apin and Panyar-Machor was a cattle theft. One youth belonging to Panyar-Apin went at night to steal a cow belonging to the Panyar-Machor clan.

The owner of the cow had been sleeping, but after realizing that his cow had been taken away by a thief, tracked the cow with his Panyar-Machor youth colleagues and immediately on the way they found their cow in someone else’s possession.

They did not ask any questions but immediately they started firing at a man who is confirmed dead. Another man from their side was shot and critically wounded. He was also reported to have died the following morning on his way to Rumbek regional hospital.

The Governor of Lakes State Daniel Awet Akot has been away in the field since Saturday morning with a delegation of the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement (SPLM) state secretariat office and members from Lakes state assembly, including high-ranking police officers. He has gone “to calm down the tense situation to normal,” said an official.

Another disturbance occurred Friday night, according to Mading Duor, a police official. A group of SPLA deserters were found in a place called “Ayai villages,” a long distance from Rumbek Centre, about one hour by foot.

The soldiers belonged to SPLA divisions 4 and 5. Duor, the commissioner of Lakes state police headquarters, said that these forces were instructed to leave Rumbek town last month by the SPLA High Command following atrocities that they had committed during the firearm search in Rumbek town on September 8, 2008.

They were told to go westward but only a few of them have gone while others rejected the orders by not joining up with their own respective units, opening their own base and looting at night. They have also been accused of a killing and rape in the town.

Duor added that, “we had a police team patroling on Friday night that met this robber group and in fact the robbers opened fire against the policeman’s truck, shooting one policeman.” The officer was critically wounded on his leg but he also managed to wound one of them.

Both victims are now admitted at Rumbek regional hospital. “We are told this morning that those soldiers are trying hard to (take) their wounded person to Western Bhar-El-Gazal state teaching hospital (in Wau) for further treatment, but we will not allow this patient to them by all whatsoever means.”

“We have actually managed to capture six soldiers among these 46 SPLA deserters forces on Friday night after we had first swapped gunfire near Rumbek airport, starting from 8:15pm until 11:40 pm,” said Duor. The captured soldiers are under investigation for a trial.

Duor added that these deserted soldiers are only 46 people while they are now using two cars that includes; one tipper truck and one Land Cruiser. Duor gave the license plate number of the vehicle and said. “we are trying hard to find out this number plate from which state it belongs too.”

The police commissioner asserted that Lakes state police is facing a lot of trouble. “There are no means of transportation dedicated to police special forces. The whole Lakes state police is only using two cars. Even we do not have enough ammunitions or proper equipments to protect the civilians.”

“Although there are no enough ammunitions, we must continue to protect the live civilians; I’m a guerrilla who fought for 21 years in the bush without salaries and I managed to become the winner through my gun-point victory toward the Khartoum regime government,” said Duor.

“Last month we were given ammunitions but governor diverts all ammunition to his military unit while state police was overlooked by the governor. This Lakes state police must pull up her sock to protect against any offensive citizens of this state until the right government who carry police could reach us,” suggested the official.

(ST)