The County Commissioner in Maridi has formed a task force to contain the security situation after at least one person was killed in a shooting on Thursday night. Two media outlets reported that the incident started with a disagreement at a bar, with one report saying the argument was political.
Anisa Radio, a Catholic FM station in nearby Yambio town, reported that soldiers argued with some civilians at the bar, then went to arm themselves before returning to kill two men.
Citing Maridi County Press Secretary Jackson Santo Pia, the station identified the slain civilians as Biko, a local motorcyclist, and Tabule, a man from Yei.
Sudan Tribune put the number of dead at one only, with another man wounded, citing a local lawmaker as their source.
According to the county press secretary, the county commissioner has formed a taskforce comprising of police, prisons and wildlife officers to contain the security situation. The commissioner has no control over national army forces in the area, which fall under a different chain of command.
The county press secretary also says that the local government has made several arrests in connection with the killing.
The local lawmaker quoted by Sudan Tribune described the argument that led to the shooting as a political one: “There was no reason for shooting them. Their crime was speaking about federal system in a bar.”
Dozens of civilians, or more than a hundred, fled to the UN County Support base owing to the shooting, seeking shelter. The situation is since reported to be calm but tense.
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Photo: Western Equatoria State
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