Shots fired at US diplomatic vehicle in S. Sudan capital
November 15, 2014 (WASHINGTON) – A United States embassy vehicle carrying the top American envoy in South Sudan was shot at by a presidential guard as the diplomatic car was moving in a convoy in the South Sudanese capital, Juba.
Ambassador Twining said two bullets hit the car leaving two big holes, thanks to the bulletproof glasses that the bullets could not penetrate the vehicle.
“We have bulletproof glass, thankfully, because it put two big holes in them,” Associated Press, one of the leading media outlets in the US, quoted Ambassador Twining as saying on Saturday.
South Sudanese army spokesperson, Philip Aguer, also confirmed that the South Sudanese motorcade from where the soldier emerged was carrying the vice president.
Aguer confirmed the incident, but denied that any shots were fired and instead said the soldier hit the vehicle of the top US diplomat with the butt of his gun.
The presidential guard involved has been arrested, added the army official.
South Sudan’s foreign affairs spokesperson said he was not aware of the shooting incident.
“I don’t have any idea on this information. I am not aware”, Mawien Makol told Sudan Tribune Saturday.
The police chief, Gen. Pieng Deng Kuol, separately denied knowledge of the incident, saying, ”I don’t have information about this allegation. When did it happen?”
Twining explained that the diplomatic vehicle was stuck in traffic as the military motorcade approached in the incident which occurred on 19 October, but was not reported in the media until this Saturday.
Army motorcades ferrying officials through Juba — South Sudan’s capital — drive at high speeds and are accompanied by trucks packed with troops.
As the U.S. follow car moved aside, a soldier jumped from his vehicle, fired two shots into windows on the left-side — usually the driver’s side in South Sudan — before returning to his vehicle, said Twining.
No one was injured in the US vehicle. Twining said his convoy’s cars were marked with diplomatic plates.
“But frankly it doesn’t matter if it is diplomatic or not,” he said, referring to the situation in Juba.
Renowned South Sudanese activist, Edmund Yakani described the incident as “unfortunate” saying members of the presidential guard need to act professionally.
“If the shooting indeed happened, then this remains a huge challenge for us,” he said.
Relations have soured between Juba and Washington, which was behind the diplomatic push for South Sudan to break away from Sudan in 2011.
President Salva Kiir’s government is battling with an opposition faction led by his former deputy, Riek Machar, in an 11-month conflict.
Kiir has accused Washington of supporting Machar. American diplomats deny the charge.
The US has given $621 million in humanitarian aid this year to South Sudan.
Washington is threatening to sanction South Sudan due to the ongoing civil war unless the warring parties halt the fighting.
(ST)