71 delegates flee SPLM primaries in South Sudan
By the AFREEQUE newsroom, based on Radio Tamazuj
Gunfire disrupted the SPLM primaries in Tambura, prompting 71 of the 350 expected delegates to flee without voting. The poll was disrupted on Wednesday by gunfire attributed by a local official to SPLA-IO forces, according to Radio Tamazuj.
Seventy-one delegates fled without voting during the ruling SPLM party primaries in Tambura County, Western Equatoria State, after gunfire broke out on Wednesday. About 350 delegates from Tambura and neighbouring Nagero County were expected, according to Tambura Commissioner James Mupaya, quoted by Radio Tamazuj.
The shooting began at around 11:30 a.m., about 1.6 kilometres from Freedom Square, where the voting was taking place. Mupaya said the gunfire appeared intended to intimidate voters and disrupt the poll rather than directly target the voting centre. National Security Service forces responded with artillery, he added.
Western Equatoria Information Minister Noah Issah Philip attributed the shooting to suspected members of the SPLA-IO, the Sudan People’s Liberation Army in Opposition. He said the gunfire came from two directions, including the barracks area and the vicinity of a church in Itambra. Voting continued despite the exchange of fire, according to Radio Tamazuj.
No injuries were reported, as the gunfire was directed into the air, Philip said. He added that the situation had returned to normal in the afternoon, with markets reopening and daily activities resuming.
