Lakes State security forces are looking for the perpetrators of a fatal attack against a police officer and soldier carried out on Wednesday. The attack followed another last Friday that was blamed on opposition forces.

The suspects in the latest attack are believed to have acted in retaliation for the killing of one of their relatives by a police patrol earlier in the day.

In the initial incident, government troops shot dead an armed civilian who allegedly refused to surrender his weapon. “Yesterday there were soldiers coming from Yirol, and on the way they got one civilian carrying a gun,” explained Lakes State Minister of Information Dut Makoi.

“He was asked to surrender it so he fired at the soldiers in the convoy so he was shot dead,” he said. Relatives of the man then rushed to avenge him, according to the minister, targeting vehicles used by the government.

“His cousins when they heard of the incident they came running with guns, they just shot at any person. As a result, they killed one soldier and one (police) officer,” he said.

Makoi said security forces in the area are looking for those who killed the soldier and the police officer. He noted it was illegal for civilians to move about with arms in the state.

Last Tuesday the state information minister disclosed that an earlier attack on government forces in Pabuot in Yirol East County resulted in another four policemen killed.

“We lost four policemen, including a driver and seven other people were wounded. This is what happened on 31 January 2014,” said the information minister. He blamed the attack on opposition forces loyal to Riek Machar.

Two killed in Warrap shooting

In neighboring Warrap State, two people were shot dead by a ‘community’ police officer in Tonj East County. A woman was also wounded in the incident last night.

Deputy Governor Aketch Tong Aleu said the drunken police officer gunned down the two civilians in the street.

“There is a certain citizen from the community police who was drunk and he went and shot at people in the village. Two people are dead and then one person has been injured. But he has been captured and he is under arrest now. He’s from an area called Marder boma in Ng’ab Agok Payam,” said the deputy governor.

Aketch added that the proliferation of arms in the hands of civilians in the state is due to the conflict in the country. He said the state government is working to reassure citizens that they are safe before it launches a disarmament campaign.

Reporting by Eye Radio