South Sudan army kill 7 civilians beat Lakes deputy speaker
Rumbek town had an unnatural air on Monday as civilians stayed indoors in fear of harassment from soldiers charged with carrying out a disarmament campaign.Sudan People’s Liberation Army (SPLA) soldiers in Rumbek severely beat the Lakes State Deputy Speaker of Assembly, Marik Nanga Marik, on Monday morning as soldiers rushed to his house to collect guns.As evening approached, SPLA soldiers started firing in the market, wounding seven people. The day’s casualties included two children aged 9 and 15, one woman, three men shot and one man wounded on his forearm by a spear.Nanga said that the soldiers “came into my house earlier around 6 a.m. and they started beating up everyone at my house and I came out from my sleeping bed and asked soldiers what is going on."They immediately start beating me with my wife and scaring my children with guns by cocking their guns with live bullets. So I told one senior officer among the soldiers to take the gun of my bodyguard instead of beating everyone and my bodyguard had been officially given to me by Lakes state police to protect me."“The gun belonging to my especial bodyguard has been taken away by soldiers despite that all constitutional post holders were given two bodyguards armed with guns by state police as well as gun number licenses that remain in police record,” added Nanga.Local businesses were hit by soldiers who undertook to loot valuables. "This is just harassment only and it is not disarmament at all," he accused.Lakes’ Minister of Local Government and Law Enforcement Agencies Awan Guol Riak had advised Rumbek community over local radio station FM-98 that “SPLA soldiers are carrying out today the disarmament and all community must stay indoor until 1 p.m., and everyone must to cooperate with soldiers. Open your door and let them check your house whether there are guns inside or not.”In his radio address Riak urged SPLA soldiers not to hinder the United Nations Mission in Sudan (UNMIS) or other non-governmental organizations, saying that UN vehicles were not required to stop at checkpoints.The Lakes State Legislative Assembly supports the disarmament of civilians, and passed a provisional disarmament order last year. Implementation has not gone as planned, however. The military intends to disarm prison staff, police, and wildlife agents, whereas the Assembly sees these as organized forces essential for governing the state.Speaker of the Assembly Isaiah Alier Mashinkok said, “it is a great surprise to me — the soldiers are looting houses, shops, and even they are beating school children who have no relationship with guns.” He added that staff salaries were carried off when the Ministry of Agriculture was looted.Speaking with Sudan Tribune after the turbulent events, the head of the main police in Lakes State, Lt. Col. Johnson Maker, described the disarmament as taking place in an “unlawful manner.”Maker regretted that his forces had not been informed of the disarmament by state authorities. "This second disarmament has been carried out in a crazy manner — even our police soldiers were ordered by SPLA soldiers to surrender their guns to them by force."The state police, prison, wildlife service and fire brigade were not involved during the current disarmament, according to Maker."Our immunity as honorable members of Lakes State Legislative Assembly is not respected; my deputy speaker has now become a victim," said Speaker Mashinkok.The governor of Lakes State, Daniel Awet Akot, argued that the disarmament campaign was necessary because 183 people have been reported killed by gunshots in just the period since January. Critics speculate that inter-clan fighting is in need of resolution before violence can be reduced, but Akot maintained that disarmament is the solution to avoid killings.(ST)From: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
