Sudanese Azande condemn fighting in Yambio between JIUs & local Police

November 4, 2007 — News coming in from Yambio this evening from local Yambio residents is speaking of heavy fighting in Yambio town in Western Equatoria state in Southern Sudan between the so-called Joint Integrated Units (JIUs) forces and the Western Equatoria local police force and some local people. The fighting is said already to have resulted in the deaths of three senior police commanders (including the Yambio police chief Joseph Ereminio Wande) and unspecified number of other police soldiers and local people.

I spoke to a local source in Yambio minutes ago and I was told heavy gunfire continues to echo in the town centre and people have all fled into the bush.

Because of the heavy fighting and gunfire throughout Yambio town it is not known how the fighting broke out but it would seem like the JIU units went and attacked the local police station where police recruits are mostly from local Western Equatoria citizens and then fighting ensured. The reason of the attack is said to be related to an incidence earlier between a JIU soldier and a local person which might have rustled in an injury to the JIU member. His comrades are said to have taken the law into their own hands and to try to punish all the citizens of Western Equatoria for the issue of their colleague.

It is worth mentioning that the JIU were sent to Yambio after tribal classes in November 2005 which resulted also in many deaths. The then Governor Col Patrick Zamoi who struggled that time to contain the clashes was later removed and replaced by the current Governor Samuel Abujohn in August 2006. The JIU forces were sent to Yambio at round the same time of August 2006, as GoSS or SPLM authorities feared the people might want to rebel against installing a new Governor they were opposed to. Since the JIU arrival in Yambio there had been numerous complains from local people who accuse the JIU of continuous harassment and brutality.

According to the CPA and the Security Arrangements the JIU were never supposed to be in Yambio in the first place but based in Maridi and Nzara and even though they are now called the JIUs they have never been integrated with part of the Sudan Armed forces as required by the CPA and they were all pulled together from only the side of the former SPLA and sometimes made up from one single dominant tribe like in the case of Yambio.

As chairman of the Azande community world-wide Organisation, I m appealing to the SPLA leadership to act quickly to avert another disaster in Western Equatoria state. Also since the current JIUs unit is from side of the SPLA only we would ask to the SPLA proper to intervene and stop the JIUs from engaging local police and people in fire fights and perpetuating tribal clashes which are a great threat to CPA implementation. The people of Western Equatoria would like also to appeal to President of GoSS Lt Gen Salva Kiir and the UN for the immediate withdrawal of JIU forces from Yambio since these forces are mostly seen as a bit tribal since they are tribal dominated, something which makes the JIU a bit aggressive than SPLA proper.

Charles B. Kisanga M.Sc, MBCS, MIET

Eng. Kisanga is former SPLM NLC member and chairman of Western Equatoria Azande Community World-Wide Organisation. He is currently living and working in exile in the UK and he can be reached on [email protected]