Police officer shot dead after killing 5 civilians in Northern Bahr el Ghazal

July 28, 2015 (JUBA) – South Sudanese army (SPLA) on Tuesday shot dead a police officer in Northern Bahr el Ghazal state after killing at least five people, causing panic in the state capital, Aweil town, and forcing some of the residents to flee their homes before intervention.

The cause of the shooting remained unclear, with authorities and eyewitnesses providing conflicting information. Authorities claimed shooting by the police officer could be linked to disapproval of administrative transfer from the previous position at immigration department while eyewitnesses attributing it to an affair in which the wife of the deceased police officer was involved with one of his neighbours.

“Actually there is no clear information as to what was the cause of the shooting. We just responded to the shooting with the view to contain the situation from becoming a major public security concern. A lot of people were running away from their homes because of the shooting. People thought it was a big security threat and so we had to intervene,” an officer with military police department told Sudan Tribune on Tuesday from Aweil town, capital of the state.

The deceased, according to the military police officer and several police and security sources, was working at the immigration department of the state headquarters before he was transferred to another location outside the town allegedly as a part of an internal administrative transfer.

“Actually I don’t know the cause and I also do not know any other information about him. I know he was one of the colleagues from the criminal investigation department. He and I were among some of the colleagues with whom we were deployed to immigration department as of internal administrative transfer. We have been there for more than a year until he was transferred to Majok Yinh Thiou,” further explained the officer.

“I think this was what he did not like but I advised him to accept and go because as soldiers we do not have a choice of where to go. We are deployed on orders and instructions but still he was not comfortable even though I used to be one of his friends. We used to go out together but after the transfer, he stopped going out with me.”

The officer, however, said he would not say with certainty whether the shooting was caused by the internal transfer or something else.

But Santino Mawien, a resident of Maper Akot west where the incident occurred claimed he had heard from some of residents that the deceased had complained about his wife having an affair with one of his neighbours and had warned that none of those he had suspected would be safe.

“I just heard the sound of gun on Monday evening and I was scared to go out. I did not know who was behind the shooting until I came to know from the residents and friends that the shooter was Luka Lual Thiep, who has been one of our residents,” Mawien narrated.

He accused some of those he had killed of having an affair with his wife but this was denied. Now I don’t know whether [he] acted based on this allegation or may be something else. I really don’t know the cause,” he said.

The source further explained that the shooting began on Monday evening and the culprit disappeared until he again appeared on Tuesday during which he decided to go on random shooting at the same residential area.

(ST)