The residents of Wonduruba Administrative Payam in Central Equatoria State have appealed to both the national and state governments to remove the South Sudan People’s Defense Forces (SSPDF) unit deployed in their area after soldiers allegedly killed several civilians.
The calls came a few days after the killing of three family members in Wonduruba Trading Center on Thursday night which the residents say was carried out by SSPDF ground forces.
According to eyewitnesses in Wonduruba, a man identified as Kaden, his wife Kiden, and their 7-year-old son, Thomas, were killed at their home on Thursday evening by elements of the army.
Radio Tamazuj conducted a series of phone interviews with several inhabitants of Wonduruba over the weekend and most of them said they had deserted their homes and now sleep in the cold in bushes at night due to insecurity orchestrated by the army.
A resident who identified herself only as Keji appealed to the state authorities to help relocate the SSPDF unit away from the Wonduruba area.
“At 8 or 9 p.m. last Thursday, they (SSPDF) killed 3 civilians at their home and these are even government forces who killed them. We thought they were coming to protect us, but now they are killing us,” she bemoaned. “We want these soldiers to be removed from Wonduruba because we cannot go to our farms anymore otherwise the soldiers will kill or rape you if they find you. We are not even eating and have nowhere to sleep at night. During the day, we can stay at home but at night we leave.”
Keji added: “Let them (soldiers) be relocated because they were brought by the government to protect us, but now they have turned out to be our killers.”
She said that even the schools in the area have been closed due to the prevailing insecurity.
Another resident who identified only as Michael for fear of reprisals also said last Thursday’s murders at the trading center happened at 9 p.m.
“On Thursday night we were surprised to hear gunshots at 9 p.m. and the following morning we went to check on the scene and found three people; a man, a woman, and a 7-year-old boy, killed in their home in Logwili in Wonduruba trading center where the SSPDF ground force is also stationed,” he stated. “During the day we stay in the center, but when it reaches night time, we keep all women in the bush because at night it is very risky to be in Wonduruba.”
Yeno, a 16-year-old school girl says they are unable to go to school as learning has been disrupted in Wonduruba with all institutions closed and urged for the withdrawal of the army from the area.
“We are just staying near the home of the coordinator of Wonduruba Administrative Payam and cannot go to school,” she said on Saturday afternoon. “We want these soldiers to be taken out from here.”
Meanwhile, Robert Lasu, the new commissioner of Lainya County, said he was aware of the gruesome killings in Wonduruba.
“I am not the right person to talk to about the issues of Wonduruba Payam, but yes, I heard of the incident of the killings,” he said.
In a telephone interview on Monday, SSPDF Military Spokesperson Major General Lul Ruai Koang told this publication that he could not comment on the issue while out of the country.
“When I am outside the country, I am not authorized to comment and there is nobody acting on my behalf,” he said curtly.
Efforts to reach the Wonduruba Payam Administrator were not successful.
In the past few months, several incidents involving the killing of civilians have been reported in the areas of Lainya and Wonduruba, with most of the killings blamed on government forces and allied militias on the ground.