Businessmen in Northern Bahr al Ghazal State’s capital Aweil held a protest today after several shops were looted in recent days. They warned of growing lawlessness and impunity for the perpetrators.
The mayor has confirmed that four shops were robbed in Aweil. She claimed that several of the perpetrators were arrested but the police were still investigating.
Musa Adam, a trader, said he had just brought goods to town yesterday when they were stolen in the night. “Daily there are robberies in the market… when you go to ask about it they say the thief has run away.”
Another trader, Rashid, said that they were dissatisfied with the response by the police that the thieves escaped. He said that only shops of foreigners were targeted. The trader Musa Abdullah said that many goods were stolen. “This is the fifth time,” he complained. “We want security,” said another trader.
One trader said his message to the community was that the entire population of the state and the government benefit from trade, not only the traders. He stressed that targeting the traders was not good for the state.
Tedros, a leader in the Eritrean business community said, “We want the market to be secure, we want the police to be here. How can the police sit below the shop and the thieves come in above? How is that possible? In August my shop was robbed, they stole 16,000 pounds. The police were below, they were just sleeping. And the thief broke in where the police were sleeping.”
Trader Ali Abakr Ibrahim said, “Four shops were broken into last night… if there were good guards here it would not be possible to break into four shops on the same night.”