The local authorities in Nyirol County in Jonglei State said they are holding seven ringleaders of armed local youth who were involved in shooting in the air on Friday and terrorizing residents of the county headquarters, Langkien.
On Friday evening, Langkien was gripped by fear and panic when heavily armed youth discharged their weapons in the air over unpaid wages, resulting in the wounding of a woman.
Speaking to Radio Tamazuj over the weekend, James Bol Makuey, the Nyirol County commissioner, said calm has since been restored in the area and seven suspects are being investigated over the incident.
“Within five minutes of shooting into the air, we contained the situation. Seven of the youth ringleaders have been arrested and they are now under investigation,” he said. “We have not filed a report to know exactly the root cause of the incident.”
“We were having a security meeting with them when some of them who were under the influence of alcohol started shooting into the air, making people think that there was a fight,” Commissioner Bol added.
Meanwhile, Maj. Gen. Elia Costa Faustino, the state police commissioner, confirmed that the security situation returned to normal in Langkien on Friday after the shooting incident.
“What happened on Friday evening was that some youth from Nyirol shot in the air because they have not been paid some incentives,” he explained. “Those youth are among those contracted to provide security and protection along the Gadiang road which is currently under construction.”
“The situation has since returned to normal and we learned that those who caused this problem apologized for their actions,” Gen. Costa added.
However, a local inhabitant of Langkien who preferred anonymity urged the national government to intervene.
“The situation was very tense because the commissioner’s residence was attacked by youth who were protesting nonpayment of their incentives by shooting into the air. A woman was injured during the ensuing chaos and admitted to the Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) Hospital,” he said. “These youth are still around the town and we call on the national government to intervene because they may violently demand their rights again.”