South Sudanese army soldiers ransack market, loot properties
August 8, 2015 (JUBA) – South Sudanese soldiers looted a market in Western Equatoria state after indiscriminately firing at innocent civilians, authorities disclosed on Saturday.
“The new units, upon arrival in Gangura payam immediately started looting the area and burning houses and firing at the people indiscriminately which also draw response from local youth and the population fled into the bushes,” Kisanga said in a statement.
Gangura payam is located about 20 miles from the Western Equatoria state capital.
“The state government in collaboration with the SPLA’s division commanding officer, Major Gen. Johnson Juma Okot, restored order after withdrawing some elements of government troops from the areas in which they were initially deployed outside the state capital and replaced them with some of those accepted by the community but some of whom decided to engage in looting,” said Kisanga.
He however said order was restored by the state government in collaboration with a delegation of national lawmakers as well as some senior military officers who visited the area last Saturday, to try and mediate, stop the violence and bring peace in the area.
“First two days was mostly spent discussing with state authorities and local communities but the youth complained that it was the armed pastoralists based in Hai Kuba in Yambio who are the ones shooing at people without warning which is prompting them to be mobilizing to go and attack them also to avenge the deaths of their people,” stressed the minister’s statement extended to Sudan Tribune.
“The army chief of Staff also did visit Yambio but only talked to his troops and State authorities were surprised to hear that he ordered the Army to apply shoot to kill policy only on the local youth without reference to the armed pastoralists or trying to address the root causes of the violence”, it added.
According to the state information minister, the government together with its delegation and the army commander took it upon themselves to hold a rally with the pastoralists on 3 August 2015. He however said during the rally, words of peace were well spoken and some Dinka community members expressed their desire for peace.
“It transpired that most of those inciting the violence are not those who had lived longer in Yambio but new comers and some elements of the SPLA who had deserted their positions in the barracks to go and back the armed pastoralists mainly with hope of looting something in the violence”, he said.
Meanwhile, heavy gunfire reportedly erupted in Gangura payam headquarters on Monday before army reinforcements were sent to beef up security and restore order in the area.
(ST)