Wednesday, July 08, 2009

LRA kill two in Maridi County, W. Equatoria State, S. Sudan

From Sudan Radio Service, Tuesday, 07 July 2009:
LRA Kill Two in Maridi
(Maridi) – The Lord’s Resistance Army attacked a village in Maridi on Monday, killing two and abducting an unknown number of people.

The LRA have scattered throughout the areas of Western Equatoria causing high levels of insecurity since the end of a joint operation carried out by Uganda, Congo and south Sudan in December 2008.

A resident of Maridi, Noel Kango, described the attack to Sudan Radio Service on Tuesday.

[Noel Kango]: “At around 8 o'clock on the night of 5th July, they appeared at the junction of Embe, in a place called Fenembea. They came there and killed two people: one called Ludu and the other one called Mardamba. They took the wife of Ludu and went with her the same night. The following morning, we heard that they abducted people. They took 7 people. Of the seven, two died. They killed them ahead there.”

It is not clear whether or not the attacks will continue but it has already caused fear among the people in Maridi.

[Noel Kango]: “They came through from the Congo border, they fought and ran back the same way. Nobody knows the reason for their coming but according to what people say, they came and started killing people. Usually, they only come in search of food but nobody knows their exact objective. Most people have run to Maridi and others have gone back to Edi, to a place where there are soldiers - in search of protection. Farmers will not be ready for the growing season if this continues.”

According to Kango, soldiers have been sent from both Edi and Maridi county to the affected area and the surrounding villages to monitor the situation.

Community youth groups are also on a high alert.

No comments: