June 15, 2016(Nyamilepedia) —— The unknown gunmen who stormed and overran Raja County of Western Bahr al Ghazal State on Wednesday are criminals and bandits, they have been repulsed and mopping up operation against them is ongoing, says South Sudan army spokesman Brig Gen Lul Ruai Koang who previously held the same position in SPLM/A in Opposition before he switched sides. Raja is the current seat of newly created Lol State according to Establishment Order number 36/2015.
“In the early hours of Wednesday, June 15, 2016, armed criminals and bandits attacked SPLA’s defensive positions in Raja town. The attackers have been repulsed and mopping up operations is going on,” says Gen. Lul Ruai.
An armed group overran Raja County on Wednesday in a surprise attack, leaving government officials to run in disarray, some had gunshot wounds. The Governor of Lol State Rizik Zacharia, who was in town during the attack and his whereabouts was not established after the attack, is now rumoured to have narrowly escaped to Aweil West. Currently, Lol state officials agreed that they lost contact with Sumeiya Adut, the Deputy Governor of Lol State who was also in town during the attack, people including her immediate relatives are more concerned about her safety, a reliable source revealed to Nyamilepedia.
Gen Lul Ruai says the SPLA and SPLA-IO will not be put down by criminals against peace, he further asserts that the two armies will implement the peace agreement and will jointly fight against anti-peace elements. SPLA in Opposition spokesman Col. William Gatjiath Deng is yet to be reached for comment.
