Eastern Equatoria says army deserters shot civilians Article Comments (15)
Email Print Save ________________________________ April 19, 2013 (JUBA) - The government of South Sudan’s Eastern Equatoria state on Friday attempted to distance itself from an incident that led to the reported death of eight people, including two government soldiers on Tuesday 16 April. Local authorities and activists told Sudan Tribune on Wednesday that 18 people - 13 soldiers and five civilians - were injured in Budi county. However, the nature of the incident have been disputed by local and state level officials. Peter Otuho, a local administrative officer said on Wednesday that soldiers from the South Sudan army (SPLA) told were sent to the area to contain arrest those responsible for a cattle raid on 13 April. He alleged that the SPLA soldiers began indiscriminately started shooting at civilian settlements as soon as they arrived in Kikilai and Lorema villages. Many people, including women, children and the elderly have reportedly been forced to flee the area. But Eastern Equatoria’s minister for information told Sudan Tribune on Friday that the soldiers who carried out the shooting had deserted the disarmament campaign in neighbouring Jonglei state, where the SPLA has deployed thousands of extra troops to deal with a rebellion. Felix Otuduha, the state’s minister of information and communications, denied that the government had misused the army. "What happened was that a Bira community was attacked by the cattle raiders from some elements from Didinga community on 13 April, killing people and took away cattle. This then message reached county authorities who responded to send wildlife personnel to recover the cattle but when cattle raiders saw them, they immediately opened fire, killing the captain and two other officers who were with him in the same mission," he said. Tuesday’s incident, the minister said, occurred as Governor Louis Lobong Lojore was visting the area to speak to the community and members of parliament on how to address cattle raiding and other security issues. Instead of attempting to flee with their cattle, the raiders had surprised the forces pursuing them by taking up defensive position killing security personnel. Otuduha said that some of the soldiers who recently deserted disarmament campaign in Jonglei where they were part of the exercise are the one causing all the problems in the state. The spokesperson of the South Sudanese army, Colonel Philip Aguer, said that there was no history of civilians to engaging "in real combat with security forces" in Eastern Equatoria state. "What is happening now is that those who deserted from Jonglei where they were part of the disarmament and returned to the area are the ones causing all these problems", he said. Aguer denied that the SPLA was involved in the fight, saying the army on the ground responded to call by the authorities to contain situation from deteriorating further. "The SPLA forces are in the area to provide protection and prevent any breaking out of violent and I don’t they can turn against the same civilians they are there to protect but we will investigation if there is any accusation against the SPLA, the officers in the area will investigate how the concerned officers got involved in whatever happened," he said on Friday. On Wednesday, Peter Otuho, the local administrative officer told Sudan Tribune that medical facilities, schools, shops and houses had been either reduced to ashes or had been looted by SPLA soldiers during the fighting. He said that the army had "allowed itself to be misused by powerful politicians and tribal leaders against its objectives and duties" and called on the government to immediately withdraw their forces from the area. Their presence will continue to cause damage, he said, while real cattle raiders who carried the attack in Bira village remain at large. (ST) -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "South Sudan Info - The Kob" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to [email protected]. To post to this group, send email to [email protected]. For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/groups/opt_out.
