Five killed in failed Lakes state disarmament

January 5, 2014 (RUMBEK) – Three soldiers and two cattle herders were killed in South Sudan’s Lakes state after an incident, in which a civilian declined to be disarmed, turned violent in Pulkuc, about 14-km from Rumbek Central county.

Four other wounded soldiers, authorities said, were rushed to Rumbek hospital.

A military intelligence officer who was at the scene of the incident said Lakes state caretaker governor Maj-Gen Matur Chut Dhuol had ordered that all civilians in the area be disarmed.

But the officer, who preferred anonymity, further told Sudan Tribune that the commissioner of Rumbek Central county had not informed them about the disarmament.

Since Dhuol’s appointment as governor last year, many youth activists in Lakes have remained at odds with him over his style of leadership.

An election, under South Sudan’s transitional constitution, should be held within three months of removing an incumbent governor or when he/she stands down.

(ST)