A senior party official has said the standoff between South Sudan’s government and former spy chief Gen. Akol Koor Kuc has been peacefully resolved.
The gunfire, which lasted over an hour, erupted on Thursday at around 7 p.m. near the Nimule Resort Hotel in the Thongping neighbourhood, where the residence of former intelligence chief Gen. Akol Koor Kuc is located.
Peter Lam Both, Secretary General of the ruling party SPLM, told Radio Tamazuj that the situation in the capital city had been de-escalated. “I want to inform the public that the standoff between Gen. Akol Koor and the government is now resolved peacefully.”
“Gen. Akol has been relocated to his home with his family without any issues. We thank SPLM Chairman, President Gen. Salva Kiir Mayardit, for resolving this situation without further escalation,” Lam added.
Following negotiations, he said, Gen. Koor agreed to move with his family to another residence in the Jebel suburb as part of efforts to ease tensions.
A security source who preferred anonymity told Radio Tamazuj that while Gen. Koor was offered other relocation options in Juba, he chose the Jebel residence, where he will be accompanied by at least five security guards.
“Gen. Akol was moved from Thongpiny neighbourhood because it has many foreign missions and embassies, and deployment of heavy security forces has been annoying; that’s why the Ministry of Foreign Affairs was informed about this issue,” he said.
Despite the resolution, some observers remain skeptical about the long-term effectiveness of this move.
South Sudanese analyst Ter Manyang suggested that simply relocating Gen. Koor does not address the underlying issues. He argued that a more sustainable solution would involve assigning Gen. Koor a new role within the government.
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.