121 weapons seized during festive holidays in Unity State

By Matik Kueth

Authorities in Unity State have confiscated 121 weapons during Christmas and New Year operations, ensuring a calm festive season in Bentiu and nearby areas. Led by Maj. Gen. Mathew Pul Jang of the 4th Infantry Division, joint efforts by the South Sudan National Police Service (SSNPS) and the South Sudan People’s Defense Forces (SSPDF) successfully disarmed individuals of PKMs, pistols, knives, and spears, according to Unity State Information Minister Gatwich Bipal.

“We have managed to relatively maintain calmness; our forces scored massively on the confiscation of the firearms roaming and those stored by the locals in the town. We collected 121 firearms, including 2 PKMs, pistols, and other tools such as machetes, spears, knives, and other harmful tools,” Bipal stated.

On his part, Maj. Gen. Mathew Pul Jang, expressed satisfaction with the mission’s results, emphasizing that the primary purpose was to protect civilians throughout the festival season.

“Our intention was to deploy forces to protect the civilians during the busy month of Christmas and the New Year Fest Eve. And successfully, we scored wonderfully, and the objective is achieved,” he said.

However, Peter Malith Kak, the state advisor for peace and security, commended the forces’ effective teamwork.

“You have been comrades from different deployments, Tong and Rotriah, to do the recent disarmament in the town, and through the implementation of law and order, you have succeeded,” he stressed.

The joint forces’ operation was notable for its circumvention of violence, with no recorded violence-related fatalities.