South Sudan rival forces trade accusations over new clashes in Juba
July 10, 2016 (JUBA) – Senior officials and military officers from the rival factions in South Sudan have issued statements in which each side attempted to portray the other as being responsible for resumption of fighting at three different places on Sunday, raising doubts on the extent of control the two main principals have on their forces.
Clashes mainly concentrated at Jebel site, the base of the opposition faction of the Sudan People’s Liberation Army (SPLA-IO), also the residence of first vice president, Riek Machar.
Officials and eye witnesses told Sudan Tribune forces loyal to President Salva Kiir attacked the opposition’s General Headquarters where their chief of general staff, General Simon Gatwech Dual, is based.
It was not immediately possible to establish the cause of fresh clashes which broken out in between rival forces, resulting in the use of heavy artillery gunfire while military jet fighters hovered the position of armed forces round the checkpoint on Yei-Juba road in Jebel area.
Although the Jebel fighting has subsided, sporadic gunfire continues to be heard, forcing civilians to flee their homes to the United Nations bases in the capital.
UN officials also said that rounds of mortar landed inside the their compound in Juba.
Sound of heavy gunfire was also heard in Gudele area and Thonypiny, a residential area close to airport. Authorities attributed the cause of firing around the airport to a drunkard soldier who fired into the air, forcing other soldiers to fire back in an attempt to control the situation. Eye witnesses said firing at the airport witnessed the use of heavy artillery and RPGs by soldiers firing randomly without orders.
Presidential spokesperson Ateny Wek Ateny claimed in a statement that the new clashes in Jebel on Sunday morning was the work of radical officers of armed opposition forces but that the government was doing its best to ensure that the general security situation returns to normal within shortest time possible .
“This is to inform our citizens that the gunshots this morning around Jebel area was the work of radical officers within the SPLM/A IO who are no longer subject to the control of the First Vice President Dr. Machar. These groups of SPLM/A IO are choosing war rather than fixing the situation in an attempt to salvage peace agreement”, said Ateny in a statement to the general public.
The presidential aide claimed the sporadic gunshots have now subsided after members of armed opposition forces were forced to retreat back to their barracks.
“The situation is now calm and so it is going to go back to normal as President Kiir is determined to maintain peace with his brother Dr. Riek Machar. So, we urge our citizens to remain calm, focus and accommodate each other since it is a must for our citizens to coexist, not as tribal cantonments, but as fellow compatriots. No vengeance should happen for the killing of those who lost their lives as a result of the Friday’s reckless shoot-out between the bodyguards of the President and the FVP. It is high time for all the citizens to embrace peace in order to save our country from slipping into total anarchy”, the statement issued by Ateny further stressed.
Machar’s spokesperson, James Gadet Dak, however, denied reports that their forces launched attacks on government forces, saying the general headquarters of armed opposition forces came under attack from government forces who allegedly attempted to dislodge from the area, but were forced to retreat to the centre of the town.
(ST)