The heavy gunfire, which erupted in Juba on Thursday night in an attempt to relocate former spy chief Gen Akol Koor left four people dead and two others injured, the Army confirmed on Friday.
The gunfire began around 7pm (1700GMT) and continued sporadically until 10pm.
Speaking at a press conference Friday evening in Juba, SSDPF spokesperson Maj Gen Lul Ruai Koang, confirmed that four people, including two service members, a student from the University of Juba, and a lawyer, were killed during the shooting.
“We have registered four fatalities. We have lost two servicemen, one was from the security forces that were inside the compound, and the other one from the ones outside of the fence,” Koang said.
“We registered two civilian casualties; two civilians were crushed to death by our armored personnel carriers. We registered two civilians shot and wounded in the crossfire,” he added.
“I was told one is a student at the University of Juba and the second one was a lawyer, all of who are in stable condition. We were able to retrieve the dead, take them to the mortuary and the wounded to the hospital. So as we speak, it is back to business as usual.”
Koang said the former Director General of the Internal Bureau of the National Security Service, Gen Koor, has been relocated from Tongpiny to his residence in Jebel.
He said the decision on him came following a security meeting chaired by President Salva Kiir.
“The good news is that a few minutes ago, around 30 to 45 minutes ago, Gen Akol Koor accepted to relocate to his second residence in Jabel with his wife, one bodyguard, and a cook. A senior officer will be assigned to him to lead and oversee his protection,” he said.
He is going to be provided with additional protection by the SPDF. He is not under our detention, he is just relocating to his residence, Koang said.
He said yesterday’s gunfire was not planned, but was due to a misunderstanding.
Akol Koor Kuc, who served as the head of the NSS since South Sudan’s independence from Sudan in 2011, was abruptly dismissed by President Salva Kiir in early October.
Analysts suggest his removal reflects a high-stakes power struggle at the top levels of the transitional government.
Kiir replaced Koor with a close ally, further consolidating control amid heightened political uncertainty.