Ethiopian nearly shot dead in Juba after misunderstanding curfew

An Ethiopian refugee in Juba was fired on and wounded when he ran away from security forces after breaking the curfew that has been in place since the start of the crisis in South Sudan in mid December.

An Ethiopian refugee in Juba was fired on and wounded when he ran away from security forces after breaking the curfew that has been in place since the start of the crisis in South Sudan in mid December.

Ochalla Omot, a 27-year-old from the Gambella region of Ethiopia, is one of about 2,400 Ethiopian refugees who live at Gorom Settlement, some 25 kilometres west of Juba.

He works in Juba occasionally to earn money to supplement his monthly food rations. The UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) reported in a story on its website that “a misunderstanding over an hour and a half nearly cost his life.”

Last December the government imposed a curfew from 6 p.m. to 6 a.m. It has not been strictly enforced, with most local residents able to move up until 8 or even 9 p.m. without harassment.

But last week the curfew was reportedly changed from 8 p.m. to 6 a.m., though no written communication on this matter was released to the press.

Ochalla Omot started heading for a night of rest at a friend’s house in Juba at about 7:30 p.m. UNHCR states that the refugee was unaware he had violated the curfew when he was stopped by armed men who ordered him to sit by the side of the road.

“I sat down, but when I saw one of them preparing his gun to shoot, I started running without even knowing it, with bullets being shot at me,” said Omot.

“I just could not believe I was going to die like that,” he says while receiving treatment for a bullet wound incurred after he got the hours of the government-imposed curfew wrong.

One of the bullets hit his left arm. But he kept running, ignoring the blood gushing from his arm. When he finally reached his destination, the only thing his hosts could do was tie a cloth around his arm to staunch the bleeding.

“They could not take me to a health centre because of the curfew.” He only got medical care the next day when he returned to Gorom.

Photo: Ochalla receives treatment for a bullet wound at a UNHCR-run clinc in Gorom settlement near Juba (UNHCR/K. Gebre Egziabher)