Maridi County police chief, cousin shot dead by unknown gunmen

JUBA – Authorities in South Sudan’s Maridi County of Western Equatoria state are telling Sudans Post that the County’s police commissioner Brigadier Chol Deng and one of his cousins were both shot dead last evening by unidentified gunmen, sparking panic among the area’s civil population.

Speaking to Sudans Post this afternoon, a senior government official in Maridi but who is currently in Juba said the area’s police chief and his unnamed cousin were shot dead at home when unidentified armed men broke into their fence killing the two and wounding one other.

“Yesterday evening, the Police Commissioner of Maridi County Brig. Dhol Deng and one of his cousins were killed by a group of armed men. They broke into his house, wounded a guard and then killed the police commissioner and his cousin whom I cannot identify,” he told a Sudans Post report.

The senior government official who refused to be named for the sensitivity of the incident said the security situation in the area has been tense with criminals seeking revenge coming from other states to look for targets there.

“In recent weeks, we have seen recent rise in insecurity in the area because there was an attempt to kill a school head teacher last week by a group of criminals who we believe came from other states with the purpose to come and kill that person,” he said.

“In general, the government needs to do more. Now there is need for the graduation and deployment of necessary unified forces to be done quickly so that people felt safe, but now people are leaving the area because of insecurity,” he added.

The latest criminal activity comes as insecurity seen escalation in neighboring Tambura County of Western Equatoria state where United Nations said last week that senior South Sudan government officials are perpetuating sub-national violence.