One police officer was killed and another injured on Monday morning when a gunfight erupted at the police headquarters in Malakal, the capital of Upper Nile State, following a dispute over deployment orders, officials said.
Maj. Gen. Joseph Mayen Akon, the Upper Nile State police commissioner, told Radio Tamazuj that the shooting began at around 9 a.m. after members of a police unit brought from Juba refused to be deployed to Ulang County.
“The incident was caused by a force brought from Juba to Malakal. There was an order to deploy them to Ulang County, but the transfer was delayed because there were no guns available,” Akon said. “Now that the guns have arrived, a disagreement occurred among the same force, which led to clashes this morning.”
He said the disagreement escalated when the police officers broke into the police armory.
“Following the disagreement over their deployment to Ulang, they broke into the ammunition and weapons store, and everyone grabbed a gun,” he said. “As a result of the exchange of gunfire, we lost one police officer called Wuol Agany Wuol.”
Akon said the state’s security team, including the army and a security adviser, visited the scene to defuse the situation and retrieve the weapons.
“We visited the police headquarters with the army and the security adviser and urged the officers to return the guns to the store,” he said.
He added that while the situation had calmed, the incident caused panic among residents, especially amid reports that Nuer spiritual leader Makuac Tut was planning an attack on Malakal.
“When the shooting was heard in the morning, many people thought Makuac had already arrived in Malakal and started fighting,” Akon said. “But I would like to inform the public that the situation is currently calm.”
Malakal Town Mayor Tor Riem also confirmed the incident and said it stemmed from internal disagreements among the police.
“The incident happened at 9 a.m. as a result of a misunderstanding among the police, but the situation has now returned to normal,” he said. “The market has reopened this afternoon. I really don’t know what caused the disagreement, but I can confirm the situation is calm.”
Dr. Gak Nhial Kueth, medical director at Malakal Teaching Hospital, told Radio Tamazuj that the facility received two people from the scene of the shooting.
“I can confirm that one person died and another was wounded and is currently receiving medical treatment at the hospital,” Kueth said. “Our specialists are attending to him.”
He said the injured officer was in stable condition and expected to recover.
An eyewitness told Radio Tamazuj he saw people fleeing as the gunfire broke out at the Buluk area.
“Before I arrived at my office, I saw many people running, and nobody answered when I asked why,” he said. “I found one police officer wounded and lying on the ground. I took him to the hospital. He was still alive when I carried him, but I don’t know if he later died.”
He said the fighting stemmed from officers refusing to be transferred to Ulang.
“There are police forces ordered to go to Ulang County, but they don’t want to go. That’s why the fighting happened among them,” the witness said. “Everyone — police and civilians — was running.”
In April, government forces retook Ulang County from the White Army, a Nuer civilian militia that had ousted the government-appointed commissioner in March and resisted army deployments in neighboring Nasir County.
Ulang County, located about 152 km southeast of Malakal, borders Baliet and Nasir counties, as well as Jonglei State and Ethiopia.