South Sudan's army spokesman, Maj. Gen. Lul Ruai Koang, has confirmed reports that gunfire erupted near the residence of former South Sudan intelligence chief Gen. Akol Koor in Juba's Thongpiny residential area. He said confusion among government security forces led to Thursday's incident and that the situation has already been contained.
"It was involving our own security forces that had been deployed there to provide extra security. You know, there are two levels of security – an outer protection force and a platoon that has been deployed around his residence to give extra protection, and they were the closer protection to him within his compound. There was misunderstanding between the two forces," Maj. Gen. Koang told the Sudan Post.
The army spokesman also denied Western media reports that the incident was linked to the arrest of the former head of the National Security Service (NSS). He said General Koor had not been arrested and had remained in his house throughout the shooting.
Koang added that the real reason behind that misunderstanding, which led to exchanging heavy gunfire, is still to be known.
"As a result, two servicemen were shot and wounded. In response, our chief of defense forces, General Santino Deng Wol, rushed to the scene and was able to contain the situation by ordering them to seize further hostilities," he stated, noting that "an investigation will be carried out tomorrow on exactly what has happened."
Maj. Gen. Koang also assured local residents that the situation has been taken under control: "Let them stay indoors until further updates are given, but of course it's clearly a limited shooting incident at the residence, and we strongly believe that it will not escalate."