The Sudan People’s Liberation Movement in Opposition (SPLM-IO) has accused the government security forces in the capital Juba of killing two of its officers over the past week.
These accusations came before a deadly clash at a checkpoint in Juba last night.
Ramadan Hassan Baku, a leading SPLM-IO member, told Radio Tamazuj that the government forces have been provoking armed opposition members by harassing them or shooting at their vehicles.
Baku pointed out that the government forces in Juba started to station troops near the SPLA-IO areas in the wake of clashes in Wau town, saying the government forces are planning to instigate fighting in the capital again.
The opposition member said two bodies of SPLA-IO officers were found at the Military Hospital mortuary. “They are not criminals, they are government forces that were involved in the killings, they were taken to military mortuary, where the body was found at the military mortuary, so this a clear sign that the government wants to instigate fighting, so this is my own analysis,” said Baku.
He revealed that a team of the Joint Monitoring and Evaluation Commission (JMEC) visited the hospital to record the two incidents of killings against armed opposition members.
Ramadan called on the international community to intervene in order to prevent the return to war in South Sudan.
For his part, Ateny Wek Ateny, South Sudan’s presidential spokesman, disputed reports that the government security forces were involved in the killing of SPLA-IO members.
Ateny instead accused the SPLA-IO members of provoking the government troops during their movements in some area that are restricted for them.
“The opposition forces are provoking the situation because most of them hail from the Nuer who lived for a long period of time in Ethiopia, some of them even cannot speak Arabic, some of them know nothing about the situation of South Sudan,” said Ateny.
However, the government official blamed the incidents on armed criminals in Juba. The presidential press secretary explained that a committee to investigate the two incidents of killings have already been set up, while reiterating their commitment to implementing the signed peace agreement.
File photo: Ateny Wek