By William Madouk
A Brigade-four commander in charge of Barpuot military barrack, along with several officers have been arrested in Warrap State following death of seven people in a container detention facility.
This came after at least seven people died of suffocation after being locked up in a 20-foot shipping container without proper ventilation in Kuajok town on Monday.
In an interview with No. 1 Citizen Daily Newspaper, Warrap State Minister of Information, William Wol Mayom, confirmed the incident, adding that the commander and officers were arrested for investigation.
“The incident is true, but the suffocation happened actually in the detention of the military barrack, Brigade 4 of Division 11, where the suspects were being arrested by military authorities in the wrong facility without notice from the governor,” said Mayom.
“Swiftly, H.E. Governor Kuol Muor Muor ordered the arrest of Brigade 4 Commander, Officers, and NCOs in charge of Military Barracks, including those on duty during the incident,” he added.
According to him, the deceased were suspects charged with murder and cattle raiding from Tonj North and Gogrial East counties.
He revealed that a one-week investigation committee was formed to examine the tragic deaths of the seven suspects in the military detention facility.
“The committee is headed by the Division (11) Commander and deputized by the Warrap State Attorney General. All Warrap State security agencies are members,” Mayom continued.
Furthermore, Mr. Mayom condemned in the strongest terms the unfortunate deaths of the seven people and urged calm as the government dug out the root cause of the incident.
“On behalf of the Warrap government and on my own behalf, I would like to express my deepest condolences to the grieving families who have lost their loved ones in the tragic military detention container,” he noted.
He further disputed an allegation that the container was at the state house, citing that the governor’s residence doesn’t have a container or a detention facility.