Northern Bahr el Ghazal lawmakers have summoned the top security and administrative officials over rising insecurity incidents in different parts of the state.
The state assembly has formally summoned the commissioners of Aweil East, Aweil West, and Aweil North, along with the Town Mayor, the state police chief, and the Minister of Local Government and Law Enforcement, to answer questions on the deteriorating security situation along the borders.
“We will question all of them about the insecurity, and they will explain what is happening,” Kuol told the Standard Zone News in a phone interview on Thursday.
“They will come to brief the August House about all these cases happening at the borders, and then we will see what is the way forward,” he added.
The move was triggered by rise in attacks in the state including, attack this month in Aweil East County, where a local businessman Yai Chuor was shot and killed during a road ambush while traveling from Majokyinthiou to Wanyjok.
The assailants escaped with over 3 million South Sudanese Pounds.
This rise in criminal acts in the state has prompted civil society to call for a more robust government response.
Joseph Angok Mayath, executive director of the Empowering Village Initiative (EVI), expressed concern over the attacks, urging the statement government to take action.
“This criminal act has not only endangered life but has also disrupted the flow of goods, weakening our local economy and creating fear among the traders,” he said.
He emphasized that since traders are the backbone of local markets, attacking them is an assault on the community’s livelihood.
Mayath called for urgent government intervention, appealing for ‘an increase in security patrols along the roads, continuous checks in vulnerable areas,’ and safety awareness campaigns for traders and transporters.
He urged community, government, and civil society leaders to unite in tackling the root causes of insecurity.
