Assailants affiliated with the Sudan People’s Liberation Army-in-Opposition (SPLA-IO) attacked a National Security Service base in South Sudan’s Eastern Equatoria State early on Thursday, wounding several officers before fleeing, senior officials said.
Eastern Equatoria Governor Louis Lobong said the attack occurred in the town of Kapoeta around 4 a.m. He identified the attackers as members of the SPLA-IO.
“I just wanted to say this to the public … this morning at around 4:00 a.m., a group of criminals associated with the IO raided the office of national security in Kapoeta. They opened fire on the building,” Lobong told reporters in the state capital, Torit.
He said the group then fired toward a military barracks, and security forces who pursued them were ambushed near the Singata River.
“These people opened fire at them. They managed to shoot and wound about five officers. Some of these officers are in critical condition,” Lobong said, adding that the wounded were taken to Kapoeta Civil Hospital. He said authorities were pursuing around nine suspects.
The shooting caused panic in the town, but Lobong said the situation had since returned to normal.
Medical officials reported a higher number of casualties.
Dr. Kherbino Awad, medical director at Kapoeta Civil Hospital, told Radio Tamazuj that nine wounded security personnel were admitted.
“Of the nine, six are in stable condition … but one is in critical condition after being shot in the head,” Awad said.
Juma Justin, Kapoeta’s executive director, confirmed the attack and said the assailants were repulsed. He said six injured officers were hospitalized and no fatalities were recorded.
“It was a small group of soldiers who launched the attack. They fled after the shooting, and the situation is now calm,” Justin said.
Morris John Peter, a program officer with the local civil society group SPIDO, condemned the violence.
“As civil society, we strongly condemn this act. This is a time when people should be calling for peace and living in harmony, not causing havoc,” he said. “This is a violation of the 2018 peace agreement.”
In a press statement, SPLA-IO spokesperson Lam Paul Gabriel said their forces attacked a National Security Service base in Kapoeta around 4 a.m. Thursday, claiming the assault killed five personnel and wounded nine others.
“This attack came after state authorities allowed their forces — including the SSPDF, NSS and other organized forces — to loot, abduct children and harass civilians without accountability,” the statement said. “Instead, they place the blame on people from Pibor.”
The attack comes amid heightened political and security tensions between the army and the SPLA-IO. The group’s leader, First Vice President Riek Machar, has been under house arrest in Juba since March 26, facing charges related to recent violence in Nasir County.
(Updated at 4:43 p.m. CAT to include a statement from the SPLA-IO spokesperson.)