KAMPALA // Sporadic gunfire continued to ring out in South Sudan’s capital, Juba, as the military “cleared out remnants” of a faction of soldiers accused of mounting a coup attempt, the foreign minister said yesterday.
His statement amid growing tension over the fate of the former deputy president who is accused of leading the failed plot.
Barnaba Marial Benjamin said the military had arrested five political leaders with suspected links to the coup attempt and that many more were yet to be traced. Chief among the wanted was former vice president Riek Machar, he said, who is now believed to be in hiding after he was identified by president Salva Kiir as the political leader favoured by a faction of soldiers who tried to seize power earlier this week.
“They are still looking for more ... who are suspected of being behind the coup,” Mr Benjamin said, referring to the military.
Mr Machar, he said, “is wanted by the government.” The United States Embassy in Juba and the United Nations Mission in South Sudan denied they are harbouring Mr Machar, he said.
The hunt for Mr Machar, an influential politician who is one of the heroes of a brutal war of independence waged against Sudan, threatens to send the world’s youngest country into further political upheaval following months of a power struggle between Mr Kiir and his former deputy. The international community continued to urge South Sudan’s leaders to exercise restraint amid fears the military’s actions in the aftermath of the attempted coup could spark wider ethnic violence.
Hilde Johnson, special representative of the United Nations Secretary-General for South Sudan, warned against “hate speech” that could spark violence against certain ethnic groups.
“At a time when unity among South Sudanese is more needed than ever, I call on the leaders of this new country and all political factions and parties, as well as community leaders to refrain from any action that fuels ethnic tensions and exacerbates violence,” the statement said.
Mr Kiir fired Mr Mrachar as his deputy in July, sparking fears of political upheaval. Mr Machar, the deputy leader of the ruling Sudan People’s Liberation Movement, has said he will contest the presidency in 2015. He has openly criticised Mr Kiir, saying that if the country is to be united it cannot tolerate a “one man’s rule or it cannot tolerate dictatorship”. At the time of Mr Machar’s removal, part of a wider dismissal of the entire Cabinet by Mr Kiir, the US and the European Union urged calm amid fears the dismissals could destabilise the country.
Mr Kiir addressed the nation on Monday in combat fatigues and vowed the plotters would face justice and announced a dusk-to dawn curfew in the capital city. It remains unknown how many people — civilians or soldiers — have been killed or wounded in the latest violence, in which mortar and heavy machine-gun fire had been heard.
Emma Jane Drew, South Sudan director for the aid group Oxfam, said she “strongly condemns the use of violent force against civilians, particularly women and children”, urging all armed groups to respect human rights.
The latest violence has forced up to 13,000 people to seek shelter inside or in the immediate outskirts of two UN facilities in Juba, Toby Lanzer, the UN’s humanitarian coordinator in South Sudan, said in Twitter post yesterday.
South Sudan’s government has given little details about how the coup was planned, saying an investigation is under way. But Mr Benjamin said on Monday that a group of renegade soldiers attempted to steal weapons from an army barracks in Juba but were then repulsed, sparking gunfights Sunday night and early Monday. Mr Benjamin described the alleged coup plotters as “disgruntled.”
The local Sudan Tribune newspaper reported on its website that military clashes erupted late on Sunday between members of the presidential guard in fighting that seemed to pit soldiers from Mr Kiir’s majority Dinka tribe against those from the Nuer tribe of Mr Machar.
United Nations chief Ban Ki-moon said he was “deeply concerned about reports of fighting between members of the Sudanese military in Juba and about the risk of targeted violence against certain communities.” He urged the country’s military leaders to “impose discipline on their forces and to exercise maximum restraint in the use of force.”
The East African nation has been plagued by ethnic tension since it broke away from Sudan in 2011. In the rural Jonglei state, where the government is trying to put down a rebellion by a former colonel in the country’s armed forces, the military itself faces charges of widespread abuses against the Murle ethnic group of rebel leader David Yau Yau. Thousands have been displaced from their homes, many seeking refuge across the border.
Associated Press
