JUBA – South Sudan’s Interior Minister, Aleu Ayieny Aleu, has accused some politicians from his home state of Warrap of smuggling firearms to rural communities, alleging that the weapons are being used to fuel communal violence across the country.
Speaking during a parliamentary session in Juba on Wednesday, Minister Aleu said some politicians sent firearms to their home villages ostensibly to protect their cattle, but the weapons were later being used in communal violence.
“Some powerful cliches within the government in Juba are clandestinely providing arms to their youth, relatives to protect their cattle in their home area,” Gen. Aleu said.
Aleu alleged that nearly everyone in cattle camps across Warrap State possesses a firearm, making it difficult for authorities to curb the proliferation of small arms.
“Finding an AK-47 in Warrap is easier than finding a doctor, a teacher, or a government official,” Aleu said.
He also attributed the prolonged delays in paying salaries to government officials, civil servants, and members of the organized forces to the proliferation and sale of firearms.
Aleu claimed that some of these weapons eventually fall into the hands of unruly cattle owners, who he said use them indiscriminately whenever they encounter suspected threats.
He said some senior military officers, including himself, who own cattle also have armed individuals assigned to protect their herds.
Aleu was responding to questions from lawmakers about recent clashes in Tonj, Warrap State, which left dozens of people dead and several others wounded.
The incident prompted lawmakers to summon the Interior Minister to respond to concerns over insecurity and the widespread availability of firearms in the state.
Warrap State, the home state of President Salva Kiir Mayardit, has in years been plagued by revenge killings, cattle theft, banditry, and other forms of communal violence.
