Heavy gunshots heard outside South Sudan’s Maridi state

January 10, 2019 (YAMBIO) –Heavy gunshots were heard on Wednesday morning in the northern part of Maridi state of the troubled Equatoria province.

The sound of heavy gunshots, which started in the early morning, created fears among the civilians as some civilians fled the area for safety.

Reached by telephone, a resident from the area told Sudan Tribune that the sound of gunshots came from the bush which was a bit far from the northern part of the town.

“we were hearing heavy gunshots and I saw some people coming from that direction heading to the downtown,” said the resident

Also, a Maridi State government official who declined to be identified told Sudan Tribune that reports from the area speak about an attack carried out by the National Salvation Front forces led Thomas Cirilo (NAS-TC) on SPLA-IO forces who were preparing to work together with the Government forces (SSPDF) in the state.

The source accused the holdout rebel group of seeking to disturb the former rebel SPLA-IO and delaying their preparations which are part of the security arrangements.

However, there is no official statement about the security situation in the area.

NAS-TC recently denied carrying attacks on the signatories of the peace agreement and recalled its commitment to the cessation of hostilities agreement signed on 21 December 2017.

(ST)