Central Equatoria regrets blockage of facts finding committee over clashes
September 19, 2015 (JUBA) – Authorities in South Sudan’s Central Equatoria State condemned the government security forces for obstructing the work of a fact- finding committee tasked with investigating the recent armed confrontations in Wondruba and Lainya county.
Caretaker governor of Central Equatoria state, Juma Ali Malek, last Wednesday 16 September formed a 14-member investigation committee headed by the State Security Advisor Abraham Wani including several community leaders, religious leaders and key members of local civil society groups.
The committee has was to visit the areas where clashes took place in Wondruba Payam and some areas under Lainya county and to establish the facts of the deadly clashes which killed over 200 people.
The 14 member committee were on their way to visit the affected areas and hold meetings with local authorities, including the security forces, police, army and individual residents in an attempt to collect information about how the violence erupted there.
In accordance with the terms of references, they left Juba on Thursday for Lainya where they held a series of meetings with the concerned groups. After what on Friday the committee members left from Lainya to Wonduruba where they met with community members and SPLA troops but could not go to Katigiri village as it was in the plan.
Circumstances under which the committee could proceed remains unclear.
Local authorities and residents claim that the visit was suspended because a local commander of the government forces in the area refused to allow them to visit the area citing bad security conditions.
Katigiri village is one of several places in which government forces are accused to have committed atrocities against civilians under the pretext of fighting armed opposition fighters operating in the area.
A member of the committee told Sudan Tribune under the cover of anonymity that there was sounds of gun shots and the local commander denied them access to the areas saying he would not bear any responsibility for the safety of the committee if we insist to go.
“Because we were already travelling with a protection force comprising military vehicles and a police vehicle, some members were advised that we should go but the team leader said it was wise to comply and reschedule the visit to the area”, said the member of the committee on Saturday.
The official, attributed the denial of the visit of the committee to reports that the army wanted to move away unburied bodies on the way.
“From the information we were getting from the residents, it seems the army wanted to make some clearances on the way. We were told some dead bodies were still lying everywhere in Katigiri village as a resulting of the indiscriminate shooting on the village and nobody buried them because civilians fled”.
He further added there only two people left in the whole village. One was the paramount chief who could not leave because he was very old and the other was a catholic priest who is a foreigner.
“The rest of the people, especially the young ones were either killed during these clashes or fled,” he explained.
(ST)