Rumbek East commissioner survives highway attack
June 23, 2013 (RUMBEK) – A group of unknown gunmen assaulted a private car carrying the commissioner of Rumbek East county, David Marial Gumke, in Lakes state on Friday.
There has been an increase in attacks in the area, the source said, adding that the police and other forces “are on alert”.
Gumke is Lakes state’s longest serving commissioner, having held the position since his appointment in 2012. Many commissioners were reshuffled after the elected governor Chol Tong Mayay was by and caretaker military governor Maj-Gen Matur Chut Dhuol.
Gumke told Sudan Tribune that none of the passengers, including himself had been injured in the attack, adding that the state government was working hard to get rid of highway bandits.
“Unknown gunmen appeared in front of [our] car and then shot at us”, Gumke told Sudan Tribune.
He said that his bodyguard responded immediately by returning fire, while he and the other passengers sought cover.
The security forces are trying to collect information on who was behind the ambush, he said.
In May, four people were arrested in connection with a highway robbery incident, in which a senior South Sudan army (SPLA) official was injured in Pacuok, just after Bar-Naam bridge in Lakes state’s Rumbek East County.
Machol Deng Ring, a senior security officer, suffered a gunshot wound after a group of armed men appeared in front of the car and immediately opened fire.
However, four suspects have not appeared in court and their whereabouts remain unclear, with some people suspecting that they are being held at the controversial Langcok military prison, located in the northern part of Rumbek Central county.
In March, 36 banditry suspects were held in Lakes state military prison , none of them have appeared in court.
The arrests come as the police are attempting to stop ambushes on vehicles travelling on the highway, which travels from Juba, through Lakes state, to Unity state and Western Bahr el Ghazal to the north and northwest, respectively.
(ST)
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