By Bida Elly David
A lawmaker representing Yei River County at the national assembly has decried the lack of security and the rampant killings in his constituency.
Peter Lomude said on the 23rd of this month, Sudan People’s Defense Force (SSPDF) mobile forces killed two people and wounded one in Lata, an area in Ombaci Boma of Yei River County.
On the 23rd of this month, SSPDF mobile forces killed two people and wounded one in the Lata area of Ombaci Boma, Yei River County, according to Peter Lomude.
“On Saturday, one of the mobile forces of the SSPDF operating in Yei went to a village called Lata in Ombaci and killed a man plus his two sons and wounded another,” Lomude said.
He furiously condemned the act of the army, stating the soldiers had failed to execute a mandate of protecting civilians in the entire County of Yei.
“What is going on in Ombaci areas is that civilians are told to leave their areas of livelihoods to be stationed at the headquarters of the Boma,” Lomude claimed.
The area MP termed the brutal act a contravention of Chapter 2 of the revitalized agreement, which requires the army to protect civilians.
He said the people in the outskirts of Yei have not experienced calm since the signing of the peace agreement.
Lomude expressed no hope of homecoming for locals in refugee camps in Uganda and DR Congo due to the alarming insecurity in his constituency.
“Since the signing of the agreement, the people of Yei have not seen peace, and there is no reason for any of them to come from the camps,” he underlined.
The lawmaker further reported that a paramount chief of the same Boma and two others were murdered after attending a dialogue in the vicinity, but action has never been taken to hold the perpetrators accountable for their acts.
He urged the parliament to digest the matter and put it as a security concern to ensure that the national army explains the reason behind the alleged mistreatment of the locals in Yei.
For his part, Aggrey Cyrus Kanyikwa, the commissioner of Yei River County, confirmed the murder of the two as well as other casualties, noting that they are probing the incident.
“We are still investigating since we don’t yet have clear information. The information was that three people were killed, and up until yesterday, we have been trying to send a team to do the investigation,” said Kanyikwa.
The Commissioner promised that the results of the investigation would establish the clear reason and motive behind the murder of the civilians.
He noted that the security situation in Yei is calm, adding that the forces on the ground were deployed by Ombaci Boma to quell the situation.
“I don’t want to give premature information that is not clearly informed. We are preparing to come to Ombaci to dialogue with the communities for peace,” Kanyikwa stated.
“We need the people of Yei to forgive each other; conflict does not help us; it is destructive to our future,” he appealed.
Efforts to reach the SSPDF leadership in Juba for comment on the allegations were futile by press time after repeated calls to the army spokesperson were all in vain.