Who is behind the Yei-Juba and Nimule-Juba road attacks on innocent civilians?
By Dak Buoth, Nairobi, Kenya
October 13, 2016 (SSB) — I condemned with contempt it deserved, the barbaric attack on innocent civilians at Yei-Juba road this week on 10th October 2016. The decease videos and the pictures circulating on social media look very disturbing and sadistic in nature. It is absolutely abnormal to take a video of someone slaughtering or skinning an African person and post it for public viewing. I cried that these irrational goons should end their act of hooliganism.
Compatriots, may your souls rest in eternal peace! Such heinous acts should not be carried out on our land and against our very own people. Let’s declare enough is enough. It seems our hearts have really gone dark. With this kind of gruesome attack, it appears as if we have become wild and less human. There are many reasons to believe that we have gone crazy.
The sources I perused read that over 20-plus passengers were killed in Yei-Juba road. That the attackers had first stop the Vehicle and separated the passengers according to their ethnic background, thus, it was alleged that only members of Dinka community were shot indiscriminately; that victims comprise of children, women and the Elderly. This callous act is uncalled for. The attackers should stop this madness in its entirety. These killers should rethink and devised a new style to advance what they are up to.
In Naath vernacular we say ‘ee kuir Bwai’ meaning an ‘act of cowardice. In any event, when you’re arguing with coward person and he sense what your intentions are, he will hit you hard and you will never see the light again.
20 is not just a number. It’s because we are used to big numbers like 70, 000, 50,000 and 20,000 victims that is why President Salva Kiir did not bother to declare a single day of national mourning. We have no hope for the future. If we live in country administered by visionary leaders who adhered to laws and order, these assailants ought to be pursue, apprehended and taken behind bars to face the wrath of law. But because we live in lawless state govern by the likes of Salva Kiir, Wani and company; we shall ever be in for rude shocks.
Let me clear the air, i doubt whether the perpetrators are the progressive forces who are seeking regime change, if so than it is unfortunate, it will cause us dearly because two wrongs never make one right. However, until contrary is proven otherwise, I suspect the murderers to be the same known gatekeepers and mercenaries in Juba. They might do it to divert attention from the real change on sight.
Pundits normally says, ‘what you see is not the thing, but what you see behind the thing is the thing’’ In the last few days, I have been grappling to weight the credibility of this disturbing information with a view to find the truth. As I mentioned therein, the informants who visited the scene of the crime told us that all casualties were from Dinka ethnic group; evidently, I have seen many of my colleagues on social media expressing their pain over the loss of their love ones who perished in that incident. We share the pain, and we stand with you in this difficult moment. Let us do something vital to avoid the recurrent of such incident once and for all.
The question I was asking myself was: where are the survivors from other ethnic groups who were spared or they were also kidnapped by the attackers? If not, why can’t the media interviews them and tells us the firsthand information as to what transpired in the vehicle? Secondly, if indeed there are survivors who reached up to Juba, why is the government preventing media from interviewing them, I believed the reporters must have sought to record their side of stories on the same.
However, since there are no credible witnesses who can verify the alleged information, I think ordinary citizens like us can analyze it independently based on our own understanding on those matters.
My stance is on two folds: the perpetrators can either be the government forces or we can attribute this case to the infamous unknown gun men that operate in and outside Juba environs. So far, the opposition (SPLM-IO) did not claimed responsibility for what happened in Yei-Juba and Nimule-Juba roads respectively. The statement published this morning by SPLM-IO spokesperson Mabior Garang only denied and dispel any rumors and suspicion linking SPLM-IO into the Yei-Juba clash. Besides, the opposition forces are not known for committing such atrocities before.
In view of the foregoing, I exonerate the opposition SPLM-IO in this case. Nonetheless, I should also shed light and put into consideration the comment made by SPLM-IO Youth Chairman, my good Friend Honorable Mabior Riiny Lual with regard to Yei-Juba road incident. This is what he posted on his Facebook page early this week, ‘‘If SPLM-IO Equatoria branch capitalizes on killing civilians in retaliation to government action, then SSPLM-IO is going to loss war. You cannot kill the same people you are trying to liberate unless in crossfire.
This is contrary to the vision of the Movement I support and it will damage the credibility of the Movement and its leadership. Equatorian leaders should desist from these targeted killings otherwise it will unleash a tit-for-tat revenge killing which is detrimental to our collective existence as south Sudanese. Chairman of the Movement Dr. Riek Machar should intervene and stop this act of terror’’
Mabior Riiny Lual’s post makes sense, however, I surprise because did not find an iota of evident backing his argument. I look at it as blanket blame. I did not take his view in high regard because his comment lacks facts to prove his terror claims against the so-call SPLM-IO Equatoria branch and its local leaders.
I presumed Hon. Mabior Riiny is SPLM-IO insider whom we should rely on for credible information. I guessed he was moved by emotion and bitterness because of the report alleging that the victims were of certain ethnicity in south Sudan.
Arguably, chances are high that it is the government forces that have killed our people on Yei-Juba road. Hence in my adjudication, they are guilty as charge. According to the International rights agencies reports, it’s always indicated that it is Salva Kiir forces that normally killed civilians indiscriminately for the last four years. You would recalled back in 2014, they castrated scores of Nuer boys in Leer in Unity state, ordered the soldiers to rape Nuer Girls and Women as form of payment in 2015; they have killed civilians in the UNIMISS CAMP both in Bor town 2014, and in Malakal, Upper Nile State 2015. Moreover, it is the government soldiers that have been committing massacre in every Equatoria towns such as Wau, Keji Keji, Mundri and in Torit et cetera.
Take note, since Salva Kiir Government has proved itself beyond reasonable doubt to be devilish, autocratic, corrupt and ethnic based regime, it can kill innocent Dinka wittingly so as to create a funny story to continue blackmailing the ignoramus people of South Sudan. At the moment, the government knows very well that it is heavily relying on the Dinka population and other handful of political brokers from other tribes. And with its treacherous and traitorous tactics, the Government can try to manipulative and exploit to its advantage the way Dinka are stereotyped through the so-called MTN.
As such, it can kill the Dinka Civilians and propagate that it is the opposition forces that target Dinka, that they just don’t like Salva Kiir presidency per se but hate every Dinka in South Sudan. They can do this with an aim of injecting fear and scaring away Dinka population from joining other nationals in the trenches. If it succeeds in creating this perception, vast majority can decide to lean on government so long it has fuel to balloon their stomachs.
Jah man, Rasta Mob Marley says in one of his roots song, ‘‘you can deceive some people some time, but you cannot deceive all people all the times’’ I’m sure our people won’t fall into such trapped. The bona fide custodians of South Sudan independent are none other than the Dinka and the likes, therefore Juba Regime will not succeed in it plans to brainwash them.
The cliques in Juba are on a journey in futility. Soon the revolutionary Dinka Majority will get out of their comforts and join their sibling in their quest for a just, secular and democratic society for all, and the current policy of ethnic exclusionism, cronyism and patronage will be buried and never exhumed.
On the one hand, if you think the so-called unknown gun men are separate from the President Forces, than let us consider them as prime suspect in the Yei-Juba road. Over times, many deadly incidents have attributed to unknown gun men in Juba include the state-house massacre in July 2016 and no one has ever claim responsibility.
The writer lives in Kenya, he can be reach for comments via eligodakb@yahoo.com
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