Western Bahr al Ghazal Deputy Governor Zachariah Joseph Garang has admitted that Wau police have gone unpaid for four months, which prompted protests earlier this week.
Police in Wau staged protests since Monday over unpaid wages and two of them were reportedly killed in a fight with SPLA soldiers when they were called in to crush the strike.
Speaking to Radio Tamazuj, Zachariah said that four people were killed from the two sides when the SPLA forces intervened.
“The protest erupted when the police were told by their boss that they will be paid February salary until the problem is solved in Juba, but they rejected the idea. So they started shooting randomly in the air,” he said.
However, the state official claimed that the security situation is currently improving in Wau town. Zachariah attributed the delay of police salaries to a technical problem in money transfer from the capital Juba to the state. He added that problem has been solved.
He disclosed that a committee headed by the State Security Advisor was initially formed in order contain the riot, but the protesting police rejected any dialogue.
Meanwhile, several local citizens told Radio Tamazuj that they saw two SPLA tanks coming from the police headquarters heading toward the barracks, while some SPLA soldiers were still around the police headquarters.
They further said some shops have been reopened. The local authorities were using loudspeakers calling on the citizens and police to resume work normally, according to a source.
File photo