By Manas James
Longechuk County commissioner, in Upper Nile State called on peace monitors to investigate last week’s clashes involving elements from SSPDF and SPLA-IO in Mathiang town.
At least 3 people were killed, and seven others injured when some members of SSPDF and SPLA-IO clashed in the county headquarters of Mathiang on Saturday evening.
What triggered the clashes remains unclear.
The commissioner, Dak Tut said fears of imminent attacks have since gripped the county and he calls on the national government and IGAD to investigate the incident.
“What happened on Saturday at 5 pm was that some forces under the county SPLM chairperson and a general who defected from SPLA-IO attacked Mathiang,” he explained.
According to the commissioner, SPLA-IO incurred injuries of four people including a female, a boy, and 2 soldiers while three of the attackers were put out of action.
The county commissioner pointed out that uneasy calm has since been restored in the restive town.
“Now, the situation is normal because those attackers retreated but tension is still high,” he noted.
We learned that some civilians are being mobilized to attack Mathiang town again, so, people are worried,” the commissioner stressed.
He pleads with peace monitors to discharge a team to Longechuk to investigate the incident.
Maj. Gen. Lul Ruai Koang, the SSPDF spokesperson, and his SPLA-IO counterpart Col. Lam Paul Gabriel could not immediately be reached for comment.