Juba — The former Commissioner of Wau County, John Peter Miskin, said Sunday that 25 people had been killed after South Sudan’s army fired live bullets on a group protesting against the administrative headquarters in the county being moved.
However, the Governor of Western Bahr el Ghazal, Rizik Zachariah Hassan, has denied that the military (SPLA) opened fire on civilians, describing media reports quoting United Nations as “unverified”.
The United Nations Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS) told the press on Sunday that six people were killed late on Saturday when the SPLA attempted to remove road blocks established in protest against the administrative changes. Then early on Sunday morning, UNMISS said, four more people were killed when a group marched into Wau town to petition the Governor.
Later on Sunday Governor Hassan issued an order imposing a curfew on Wau town from 7pm to 7am.
Former Commissioner Miskin, told Sudan Tribune on Sunday that the SPLA fired “live bullets indiscriminately on the innocent civilians protesting their rights.”
Miskin said the protesters had been killed purely because they told “the government that the decision it has taken is not constitutional”. In October Miskin resigned from his position as Wau County Commissioner in protest against the decision of the Western Bahr el Ghazal State cabinet to relocate the headquarters of Wau County to its original place in Bagari,
The Deputy Speaker of Western Bahr el Ghazal Legislative Assembly, Edward Ukungeri, confirmed that protesters had been killed but did not give a death toll. He warned that the government “will bear full responsibility” for lost of lives in the clash.
The decision of the Western Bahr el Ghazal cabinet to to move the headquarters of Wau County, had not been endorsed the state’s parliament, he said.
“We asked the government to sit down with people to discuss the matter but it is now becoming something else. They are killing innocent civilians. Will this work? The people who took this decision, whether as individuals or as government will bear full responsibility. You cannot kill people because they do not accept your decision”, Ukungeri said.