SPLA ‘Commandos’ in Maridi County of Western Equatoria State allegedly carried out killings and arbitrary detentions a few days ago, according to a national lawmaker.
“In the last two days, citizens from the area informed us that there was an SPLA Commando unit dispatched from Juba, so those soldiers started to carry out operations without any orders from Juba. They started to intimidate, kill, and detain the citizens,” Justin Joseph Marona, MP representing Maridi in the National Legislative Assembly told Radio Tamazuj.
The lawmaker said he had briefed the assembly’s members on the security situation in the county, saying the recent activities carried out by the SPLA unit stirred up fear among the citizens.
“So we briefed the parliament so that people can know that there is an unusual situation in Maridi. We also wanted the people to know about the mission of that SPLA unit in the area,” he said.
“If that SPLA unit was sent for a special mission it should be known by the people, if the unit was sent to protect the citizens it should also be known,” he added.
Marona denied reports that there is an ‘insurgency’ in Maridi County. He pointed out that the citizens are frustrated by the activities carried out by the army in the area recently.
“If there is any problem it should be made clear, people should sit down and solve the problem. The citizens in the county need peace and stability” he stressed.
The MP accused the SPLA of failing to protect the county commissioner who was attacked by unknown criminals recently. “This is a problem itself, I wonder how the commissioner was attacked and the army and police were there. The army and the police are supposed to protect the commissioner and the citizens,” he explained.
The Maridi County lawmaker blamed lack of training within the SPLA for the isolated incidents being carried out by some soldiers in the area.