Eleven people killed in SPLA–civilians fight in South Sudan’s Jonglei – official
By Philip Thon Aleu
July 8, 2009 (BOR TOWN) – Eleven people were killed and twenty others wounded on Friday July 3 when Southern Sudan army clashed with armed civilians in Nyirol County, Jonglei State, official says.
A police officer and a SPLA soldier quarreled for unknown reason in Langken, the headquarters of Nyirol County. Defeated, the unidentified soldier returned to the barrack to inform his colleagues about the development.
The police officer also alerted his boss who promptly marched toward the army barracks attempting to sort out the problem but the army thought he was leading an attack on the SPLA soldiers.
The SPLA soldiers opened fire on policemen, but they also killed one civilian from Nyirol. Relatives of deceased then organized themselves and launched an assault killing four SPLA soldiers, said the minister.
Five civilians also perished in the attack. Another police officer was killed in army-civilians battle raising death toll to eleven, Jouch noted.
“The situation is now under control,” said the state spokesman.
A lot of arms remain at the hands of civilians in South Sudan following the two-decade civil war that ended in 2005 by the comprehensive peace agreement. There is no clear cut of difference between soldiers and armed civilians in South Sudan’s Jonglei, since both sides carry guns. However, the military kakis uniform of the SPLA serves as the only distinction.
Southern Sudan authorities are pushing ahead with disarmament program refreshed each year to get rid of illegal guns.
In a related development, 2 children rescued on Monday rejoined close parents today to begin orphan live. Their mother and father were killed on Sunday July 5 by abductors believed to be Murle tribesmen of Pibor County. The famous raiding occurred at Yith-nom – east of Joint Integrated Units (JIU) location at Malual-cat on Friday July 3.
The children are Philip Deng Garang, 9, and his sister Elizabeth Aker Garang, 6, of Kolnyang Payam, Bor County. Kolnyang youth helped to serve the children from ruthless abductors acquiring offspring via other people.
Deputy Gov. Hussein Mar, who was available to comment at the event, says: “We are glad for the recovery of child and… grieved for the lost of their parents.”
The salvage of these children comes in a week when a boy, Angok Mayen Garang from Twic East County and abducted in March, 2009 to Pibor County escaped from the kidnappers to return home.
Jonglei maintains that disarmament should be prior campaign to stop abduction and/or reunite children abducted with their parents. A disarmament commenced June, 2008 failed to yield.
(ST).