Malakal Residents Still Fear To Return Home Most of the residents of Malakal, Upper Nile State have not yet returned to their homes due to fear since the government forces recaptured the town two weeks ago from anti-government forces loyal to Dr Riek Machar. 07 February 2014 Buses transporting some Malakal returnees previously. [File]
By Ariik Atekdit *JUBA, 7 January 2014 [Gurtong] - *The State Minister of Information Hon. Philip Jiben Ogal earlier appealed to the residents to return to their houses and start their normal life. However, response to the call has been very low with no employees reporting for work. "Those who are alive and live in town are now liberated by their army, the Sudan People's Liberation Army (SPLA) and they will begin to live their normal life. I urged them to return to town and live in their houses," Jiben appealed. Francis Michael Gwang, a local Catholic Radio journalist in Malakal and now has run to hide in a village called Wau - Shilluk. "I went to Malakal yesterday (Wednesday) and I have now returned to my hiding place in Wau-Shilluk," said Gwang. "Life is not good in Malakal. There is nothing in Malakal. Homes are looted and burnt and bodies still litter the street. They are rotten. "The Red Cross organization has recently started collecting the bodies for burial but believe me it is a great work that cannot easily be completed in short time. Nobody really likes this ghost town again. Flies are everywhere and dogs eating scaring bodies." He doubted whether the government ministers might are also in the state capital which he said is "scaring sites." When asked whether residents trust the government forces, Gwang said: "Yes, we trust the SPLA. There is no fear about them. The army and other forces are seen seriously beefing security in the town but know that we are traumatized." Though the government controls Malakal town, still four counties of Nasir, Ulang, Maiwut and Longechuk are in the hands of the rebels loyal to Riek Machar. Gwang decried the poor situation the Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) are facing in the many camps which he said are not known by any humanitarian organizations. The Mid-December internal power struggle within the ruling SPLM party degenerated into internal armed conflict pitting armed loyalists of President Kiir and his former deputy Machar against each other. President Kiir called it a "coup attempt" but Machar denied it, saying it is a ploy to eliminate the president's critics. Dr. Machar and his followers however accuse president Kiir of dictatorship, saying they want a democratic South Sudan government for which they are fighting. The conflict which started in Juba quickly spread to Bor, Bentiu, Malakal and the latest in Tonj North county of Warrap state. It has worsened the humanitarian challenges in the country as almost 900,000 people have been displaced and are in dire need of assistance. Posted in: Home<http://www.gurtong.net/ECM/Editorial/tabid/124/ctl/CategoryView/mid/519/categoryId/1/Home.aspx> , Governance<http://www.gurtong.net/ECM/Editorial/tabid/124/ctl/CategoryView/mid/519/categoryId/6/Governance.aspx> , Humanitarian<http://www.gurtong.net/ECM/Editorial/tabid/124/ctl/CategoryView/mid/519/categoryId/8/Humanitarian.aspx> , Featured Stories<http://www.gurtong.net/ECM/Editorial/tabid/124/ctl/CategoryView/mid/519/categoryId/137/Featured-Stories.aspx> -- 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]. Visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/SouthSudanKob. To view this discussion on the web visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/SouthSudanKob/CAJb14opFcCSP8U57HrF4HioXu%2BKbiA2iTWOo4i9EJ1xOqEPzdw%40mail.gmail.com. For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/groups/opt_out.
