Authorities in the proposed Wau State have called on the population to stop listening to rumours about the reported killing of the two SPLA soldiers by armed men, which prompted fears of an impending attack on the town, describing it as an isolated incident.

Minister of Information Maka Bushra Mohamed in an interview on Thursday when reached on the security situation explained that the governor met yesterday morning with the heads of different security organs, including the commanding officers of the SPLA forces in and around Wau. 

“The objective of these meetings was to brief them about the current security situation, especially after the incident of yesterday  in which two soldiers were ambushed and killed while they were coming to the town from Busere area,” she said.

Minister Maka said the situation was now calm and people have returned to their normal activities in the town. She praised the government forces for treating the incident as an isolated case and not a targeted attack organized by a known group of people within the town.

“Nobody knows who ambushed the soldiers. They were found dead and nobody was seen and identified as the attackers. The investigation will be jointly carried out to look for culprits and their motives,” she said.

The minister also confirmed a separate case in which a driver of the Wau town mayor exchanged fire with an SPLA officer in the morning, resulting in the death of the soldier. The cause of firing shots remains unclear.

Several eyewitnesses in Wau town have confirmed the occurrence of two separate incidents.

Deng Mawien, a resident of Hai Kosti in Wau town, on Thursday said that there has been “tension in the town since yesterday after the killing of two SPLA soldiers on their way to the town from Busere.” He also said the situation nearly exploded yesterday morning when the driver of Wau town mayor shot dead an SPLA captain after disagreement.

“Hai Kosti is now deserted. People have fled their homes because of the fear since this is where an officer has been killed. They are saying may be SPLA soldiers will retaliate but I am now seeing movement of military vehicles in to the area to calm down the situation and to provide security to the residents. They are saying this should be treated as in an isolated incident,” he explained.