December 16, 2013 (JUBA) - South Sudan’s armed forces have heavily deployed in the capital Juba, in a bid to control the tense situation.


SPLA spokesperson Phillip Aguer (AP)

On Sunday evening, forces from the former Joint Integrated Units (JIU) exchanged heavy gunfire after unexpected changes were made within the presidential guards, a military source said.

“The fighting was sparked off after forces - predominantly from one ethnic group - were deployed under the directive of Maj Gen Marial Cinduong Yol, the commander of the presidential guard force”, the source said.

The military source, however, claimed the firing started when the ammunition store manager refused to hand over store keys as demanded by the presidential guard commander.

“You know our situation. We are living in a tribal country. This firing had been extended to [army headquarters] Bilpam because each group has comrades there. Gunshots remain heard at the moment”, the senior official told Sudan Tribune in an exclusive interview on Monday.

It remains unclear how many died. Eyewitnesses, however, claimed about 21 people, including a former commander of the JIUs, were among those killed.

A Sudan Tribune reporter in Juba said heavy gunfire continued in the capital, despite the deployment of tanks around the city.

The firing was initially confined to the military barracks, but later extended to areas occupied by civilians, including, Malakia, Hai Nimra Talata, Hai Nyakuron, Neem, Hai Nyakuron, Juba University and Bilpam.

Unconfirmed reports say the fight broke out after president Salva Kiir allegedly ordered the army’s chief-of-staff, James Hoth Mai, to arrest dissident politicians, including Rebecca Nyandeng, the widow of the founder of South Sudan’s ruling party, the late John Garang.

“This situation could have been contained since yesterday, but the differences within the security and the army could not allow the taking of immediate action”, a senior government official said Monday.

The official, who asked not to be named, could not comment on whether Kiir had ordered Maj Gen Yol to introduce the changes.

Phillip Aguer, the spokesperson of the South Sudanese army (SPLA) regretted the event, but stressed that government was in full control of the situation.

“This situation is under control. People should not panic. The general command is acting and this situation will fully be brought under control any moment from now”, Aguer told Sudan Tribune on Monday, without providing further details.

(ST)

South Sudan crisis

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16 December 2013 11:33, by mathem jech amer

DARKEST day in Nuers history & blackest future for RIEK. Coup attempt has failed & Riek hide in UNMISS camp, what next for his supporters? SPLA already requested UNMISS to hand him over and will be soon court martial, no more mercy to him, hundreds of innocent people killed last night by his Nuers supporters but now dislodged out of Juba & they will be captured one by one, no prison for them.
- 16 December 2013 12:06, by Paul
  
  I knew this guy called Riek Machar is an incompetent individual. He can not control his egos. Now his desperate act of violent confirms the true nature of the man. He has fallen into the trap of his own makings! fool!
  - 16 December 2013 12:27, by Mi diit
    
    Mathem and Paul,
    Ahahahaaa...Can a rat arrest a cat? Kiir will end up arresting his own people but can NEVER touch Dr. Machar, otherwise, he will be in BIG trouble, bigger than those few soldiers who made his life hell at night. Dr. Machar is there walking free in Juba. No UNMISS compound, only Kiir went there to hide.
    - 16 December 2013 12:49, by Paul
      
      Mi Diit, you are really mi-diit in your own mind son!
    - 16 December 2013 15:59, by Ahmed Chol
      
      Dear Dinka People,
      I am a Dinka people, I live here in Juba working in the army. What has been done by Gokrial militia should not be supported by any wise Dinka person. Tell all our youth in the army and the states to support democracy and not the Gokrial stupidity. They kill ISAIAH ABRAHAM to kill democracy. Democry should be allowed to die like this, that is what we fought for.
    - 17 December 2013 09:29, by moto
      
      MR.FOOL MIDIIT,
      I KNOW YOU ARE IN USA FOR GREEN PASTURE,PLEASE COME BACK WITH YOUR STORIES AND WITNESS HOW A RAT CAN ARREST CAT IF CAT MISBEHAVE.
  - 16 December 2013 16:10, by Ahmed Chol
    
    Dear Dinka People,
    I am a Dinka person, I live here in Juba working in the army. What has been done by Gokrial militia should not be supported by any wise Dinka person. Tell all our youth in the army and the states to support democracy and not the Gokrial stupidity. They kill ISAIAH ABRAHAM to kill democracy. Democry should not be allowed to die like this, that is what we fought for
- 16 December 2013 13:32, by Bentiu son
  
  BREAKING NEWS the reinforcement sent from Jonglei arrived this afternoon led by tiger Gen Peter Gatdet Yak Majiek.We shall fuck away Salva Kiir and his poor team to hell tonight.We will overrun the Bilpam Military HQ soon than later,just wait for more news to come .
  - 17 December 2013 06:07, by Ahmed Chol
    
    How does Kuol Manyang feels now? Why was he rejected in 2009 by Gokrial thugs as Defense Ministers and they now give him the position? Kuol is foolish indeed!
16 December 2013 11:39, by mathem jech amer

Instead of Riek hiding in UNMISS compound, he should had been in frontline to fight his presidency, now things fall apart and innocent Nuer soldiers dying for one man problem. This is second genocide, we Equatorians were supporting him for the seat but now Riek become a killer, to be leader by force, die on your own, never will you be leader for S. Sudan again.
16 December 2013 11:55, by Yuol

History repeats itself
Riak quest for top job always earns human lives but today he ends his political career. may souls of innocent lives go in peace.
- 16 December 2013 11:57, by mathem jech amer
  
  Riek has been captured and now arrested at New Bongo prison, he has nowhere to run.
16 December 2013 12:04, by panda

This is bad for Riek groups in country like south sudan full of tribals problem you should not attempt somethings like that.I’m not Kiir fan but Riek should wait because good things come to those who wait now Kiir still be president someone will come after Kiir left which is not Riek.Dr Riek ended his political ambition there is no need of violence and awe just came out from war the legitimate war
16 December 2013 14:23, by Dengdittueny

Dear south Sudanese, we the young general should be watchful about commenting on article on tribal basis. I only support peaceful transfer of power from one leader to another. I can tell you that Riek longing for leadership started in 1991 when he broke away from SPLA. Without allowing space for scares he created to get hell he tried coup. Even some Nuer men who do not support violence can judge
- 16 December 2013 15:54, by Ahmed Chol
  
  Dengthin ken tueny,
  Why do you support this idiocy of Gokrial. Salva must die for South Sudan to be free.
  - 16 December 2013 15:57, by Rommel
    
    Ahmed Chol:
    And who do you think should be the President? Riek!? That man cannot be allowed to rule South Sudan. He has killed more civilians than any other political figure in the political environment.
    - 16 December 2013 16:06, by Ahmed Chol
      
      Rommel,
      I don’t care about who becomes the president. I don’t want democracy to die. What the Gokrial is doing is something that will creates long term dictatorship that will be worst than that of Arabs. I want a leader to elected in a free democratic way not Gokrial thugs messing up the country.
      - 16 December 2013 16:07, by Ahmed Chol
        
        I would rather have Riek than a foolish Dictator that doesn’t know what he is doing.
        
        16 December 2013 16:19, by Rommel
        
        Ahmed Chol:
        Your ostensibly noble rhetoric would have been credible and would have been uniformly well received, if you had not glossed over Riek’s sordid history. Why did you omit the fact that Riek’s Nasir faction did not have any degree of democracy!? Why do you not mention his terrible human rights record!? He is not a viable alternative!
        
        16 December 2013 16:28, by Rommel
        
        This is what Riek said to a journalist-historian in the wake of the 1991 split:
        He discounted tribalism as “from a different age”, though boasted that he has “not seen a Nuer who doesn’t support me.” In the same breath, he added, “if there is a tribal element, the Nuer would destroy all the Dinka.” (Me Against My Brother: At War in Somalia, Sudan and Rwanda, Scott Peterson)
        
        16 December 2013 16:29, by Rommel
        
        Riek justified the Bor Massacre, saying that it was meant to show Garang that he must negotiate a peace with the breakaway group and couldn’t overpower them with force. He claimed that he felt acute “embarrassment” because “so many civilians were caught in the crossfire.” (Me Against My Brother: At War in Somalia, Sudan and Rwanda, Scott Peterson)
        
        16 December 2013 16:30, by Rommel
        
        "The atrocities committed are things [the Dinka] asked for”, he said. He claimed he had dictated what happened: “Fighting at Bor did not get out of control. I was in total control of how far the troops went. “(Me Against My Brother: At War in Somalia, Sudan and Rwanda, Scott Peterson)
        
        16 December 2013 16:32, by Rommel
        
        The massacre was not the end of the tragedy in Bor, however. An estimated 100, 000 people fled the area following the attack, and after many of the villages had been burnt to the ground. According to Amnesty International, famine brought about by looting and the destruction of crops and livestock killed a further 25, 000 people, many of them children. ( South Sudan Max Lovell-Hoare)
        
        16 December 2013 16:40, by Rommel
        
        Are you really going to argue that you would support a man responsible for the deaths of close to 30, 000 civilians!? A man so disturbed, so delusional that he so sickeningly boasted that his tribe could wipe out you, your family, your clan — your entire tribe!? If you can support a man like that... you sir, are guilty of being a sado-masochist.
        
        16 December 2013 16:37, by Ahmed Chol
        
        Rommel,
        You are not understanding!
        I am talking about democracy. Were Pagan and Nyandeng involved in the 1991 split? They expressed willingness for presidency, why does Salva deny them right to contest freely? People like Pagan, Deng Alor, Oyai Den have done more than your idiot Salva Kiir. These people have the right to contest for presidency if Riek doesn’t have that right.
        
        16 December 2013 16:53, by Rommel
        
        Ahmed Chol:
        I want a Constitutional Republic with term limits and checks and balances. I want Salva Kiir to affirm that he will not contest for another term. There are factions and alliances in the politburo, and had you actually read my posts, you would know that I want Salva to lend his factional support to Pagan for the SPLM Chairmanship in a legitimate, fair and transparent voting exercise.
        
        16 December 2013 17:43, by Ahmed Chol
        
        Rommel,
        If you support democracy then you need to start denouncing what Kiir has done. Why did he by passed the PB, this move is undemocratic and will push South Sudan into wars for many years to come. Death to Kiir!
        
        16 December 2013 17:45, by Ahmed Chol
        
        Rommel,
        If war breaks out in South Sudan, Kiir is to blame because he initiated this move. Who is he? an illiterate Gokrial, the lowest group in the entire Dinka community.
        
        16 December 2013 18:21, by Rommel
        
        Ahmed Chol:
        Do not involve the people of Gogrial in your criticism of Salva Kiir. You exemplify the greatest weakness in Dinka culture — the willingness to abandon your own kith and kin for your own gains; a Century ago Dinka Duk came to the people of Twic-east for assistance when they were attacked by the unified Nuer... Do you know what Twic-east did?
        
        16 December 2013 18:36, by Rommel
        
        .. Twic-east took advantage of their [Duk] plight, predated on them and left them to suffer as though they were not related. That’s how I see you. Keep your criticisms confined solely to Salva Kiir! Do not lie and claim that the people of Gogrial occupy the bottom rung of our society! Keep them out of it! Question: If any group were to attack women and children in Gogrial, would you be neutral?
        
        16 December 2013 17:59, by Rommel
        
        Ahmed Chol:
        I have condemned Kiir more times than I care to count; I have condemned him for violating a ’constitution’ that already ascribes to him inordinate Executive powers; I have condemned him for the rampant, enervating corruption, the nepotism, the insecurity and for intimidating, detaining, torturing and murdering journalists. Isaiah Ding Abraham Chan Awuol was married to my auntie.
        
        16 December 2013 18:05, by zulu
        
        Ahmad Chol
        You are very much flirting with the blood of south sudnese. I have no compungtions whatso ever to call you a fool, deried you with a sneer, vomit you like an unwanted flithy food.
        Riek does not own south sudan. His many attempts at the achellon has been regrettably bloody. He has obtained arms from Iran through Qatar to launch a coup. Now, he must face execution for treason.
        
        16 December 2013 18:53, by Tutbol
        
        zulu,
        I don’t think Iran would give a guy like Riek Machar arms, Qatar? possibly. Remember the *New world order* alliance? the West & Arab gulf state, Turkey, South Korea against everybody else. The West would be supplying mercenaries to invade a weaker country the corporations want to be looted & the gulf Arab states would be footing the operational bills with their petro-dollars...
        
        16 December 2013 19:04, by Tutbol
        
        ...They have done it in Libya, Mali & now C.A.R. They didn’t succeed in Syria because Russia wouldn’t allow them to invade Syria. And now they are trying their game through their cloned like our mentally deranged Riek Machar in our country, i doubt S Sudanese will buy their game. Not that all S Sudanese want Kiir in power indefinitely, but we will remove through elections & on our own volition....
        
        16 December 2013 19:15, by Tutbol
        
        ...l don’t think any S Sudanese would want a foreign puppet stuff into their own throats as their leader?1! It will not happen as we know it. The *New world order* alliance is only corporations based alliance with powerful nations supplying mercenaries in the guise of humanitarians, national interests & all, but all these are all ruses by the corporations, fascists & plutocrat to invade other...
        
        16 December 2013 19:25, by Tutbol
        
        ...people’s countries to steal. We must not let these intrigues be played on our country. Never want any damn Europeans or any damn mercenary walking our country in the name of their evil UN troops humanitarian bullshits. Their game work better in the Easy to fool former French West & central African countries. But in our S Sudan, bloody noses. No one wants the damn UN govt in our country.
16 December 2013 16:55, by Kim Deng

Coward Jaang/Slaves,
"The source said the group predominantly of Nuer have expelled their colleagues predominantly of Dinka, composed mostly of those who were recently graduated by president Kiir at Luri bridge and deployed at the old military barracks."
- 16 December 2013 17:07, by Rommel
  
  Arab slave/oilfield guard-dog:
  Those Nuer that you are speaking off have now been expelled and are being pursued. In what sick universe does a former slave use this term in an attempt to degrade others? You and your ilk returned in 2004-6, after serving Khartoum for decades in military operations, relying on their supplies, ammunition, logistical support and food relief.
  - 16 December 2013 19:06, by Msudi
    
    Rommel,
    You sound heart broken. Remember the bahr ghazal hunger of 1998 was caused by karbino kuanyin and kawac makuei
    - 16 December 2013 19:16, by Rommel
      
      Msudi:
      I am not "heart broken". There is nothing for me to be "heart broken" about. The Dinka have endured suffering at the hands of your erstwhile ally, so this doesn’t shake me at all. The Bahr el Ghazal hunger was caused by numerous players; Kerubino could not get troops from Bahr el Ghazal, so he worked in tandem with the Baggara as well as the Bul Nuer.
      - 16 December 2013 19:44, by Msudi
        
        Rommel,
        There were no baggariu or bul nuer with karbino. I was in Mayen abun when things went bad . The same thing is what president inherently doing at moment. There was no coup attempt and every knows. The losers in situation will be only children regardless of the tribe they come from
16 December 2013 20:27, by SouthSudaneseviews

I think it is time for US to give the same sanction of oil and other good stuff. Because right there is no different between South Sudan and Sudan anymore. Every citizens of South Sudan living in US, Canada, Australia, UK, etc. to needs uprising right to save our people live from dictators: Kiir and Kuol, etc.
16 December 2013 20:28, by SouthSudaneseviews

I think it is time for US to give the same sanction of oil and other good stuff. Because right there is no different between South Sudan and Sudan anymore. Every citizens of South Sudan living in US, Canada, Australia, UK, etc. to needs uprising right to save our people live from dictators: Kiir and Kuol, etc.
- 17 December 2013 06:12, by Ahmed Chol
  
  How does Kuol Manyang feels now? Why was he rejected in 2009 by Gokrial thugs as Defense Ministers and they now give him the position? Kuol is foolish indeed!
16 December 2013 20:28, by SouthSudaneseviews

I think it is time for US to give the same sanction of oil and other good stuff. Because right there is no different between South Sudan and Sudan anymore. Every citizens of South Sudan living in US, Canada, Australia, UK, etc. to needs uprising right to save our people live from dictators: Kiir and Kuol, etc.
16 December 2013 20:28, by SouthSudaneseviews

I think it is time for US to give the same sanction of oil and other good stuff. Because right there is no different between South Sudan and Sudan anymore. Every citizens of South Sudan living in US, Canada, Australia, UK, etc. to needs uprising right to save our people live from dictators: Kiir and Kuol, etc.
17 December 2013 01:51, by Kim Deng

The Mighty Nuer Warriors are now killing themselves in SPLA HQtr, Bilpam just to secure the coward Slaves’ King, Slava’s Empire. Lt. Gen. Gathoth Mai and Lt. Gen. Bapiny Minytuel decided to secure the Dinka Kingdom from Mighty Nuer Warriors’s wrath as William Nyuon did it in 1983.
- 17 December 2013 06:00, by Ahmed Chol
  
  How do two Dinka Men Kuol and Kiir feel when they stand before the public, terrorizing other tribes over made up nonsense of attempted coup? Who believe them is a fool. How does Kuol Manyang feels now? Why was he rejected in 2009 by Gokrial thugs as Defense Ministers and they now give him the position? Kuol is foolish indeed!

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