The Chief of Defense Forces on Monday issued a stern warning to both members of the organized forces and civilians against celebratory shooting during New Year festivities.
Addressing members of the joint security forces during a general parade ahead of deployment for the New Year`s celebration, General Paul Nang Majok threatened that anyone found firing guns in celebratory gunfire during the New Year`s celebration would be taken to the frontline without a gun.
“Anyone who fires guns in the residential areas should be arrested, the gun confiscated, and taken to his unit. My order is anyone who fires a gun should be handed to me because we have places in the frontline that need forces and I do not have soldiers,” he said. “Any officer from the police, army, any other organized force or civilian who fires a gun should be brought to me, I will take that person to the frontline without a gun. A notorious person should go to the frontline to see how they acquire guns and how the enemy fights.”
Gen. Nang lauded the forces for their efforts in maintaining security during the Christmas celebration and urged them to do the same during the New Year celebrations.
“I want to congratulate all of you for the good work during the Christmas celebrations and everyone is happy. We have the end of the year and New Year celebration on 1 January and we have to give you a task. The first suspects are the gangs (niggers) who will be a nuisance and this should not happen because we want people to celebrate the New Year peacefully,” he said. “We do not want to hear cases of fighting, we do not want to hear that someone carried a knife, machete, sticks, and guns because some of you are part of the niggers and this is strictly prohibited. Once you are found on the road celebrating we have no problem but we will deal with people who are fighting and carrying knives, machetes,and sticks.
The army chief also urged the members of the joint forces to remain on high alert ahead of the New Year’s celebrations and reminded them to respect diplomatic protocols and diplomatic missions along with their personnel, equipment, and properties.
For his part, Inspector General of the South Sudan National Police Service Gen. Abraham Manyuat Peter called on the forces to be on high alert to crack down on any criminal activities.
“The forces here are part of the forces to be deployed and there will be more who will be deployed at hotspots where niggers (gangs) might cause security issues. There could be colleagues from the organized forces who will not be on duty but in their houses and once they drink will start shooting anyhow, this should stop,” he said. “If we find anybody in his or her house or on the road firing guns, the first thing is to arrest them, remove the gun, and keep it in his or her unit, and later the gun will not be returned to him or her because that is someone irresponsible.”
The police chief also warned the forces against alcoholism during the New Year revelries.
“I do not want any officer on duty to indulge in alcoholism, once you drink alcohol your mind will not function properly, so, try to avoid drinking during working time to show that you are responsible,” he stated.