Tension in southern town after soldiers rampage

Four soldiers and seven civilians were killed in the southern Sudanese town of Rubkona after soldiers of the Sudan Armed Forces (SAF) and the southern Sudan People's Liberation Army (SPLA) opened fire in the middle of town, according to residents. Although people have returned to the streets of Rubkona - adjacent to Bentiu, the capital of Unit State - the presence of armoured vehicles is evidence of tensions. "There was a dispute in the market on Sunday - between a soldier of the SAF and one of the SPLA - which ended in a fist-fight," said a bystander. "On Monday, the SAF soldier returned to the market with his gun and killed the SPLA soldier and wounded two of his colleagues." Although the perpetrator went into hiding in a barracks of the Sudanese military, SPLA soldiers - who formerly belonged to the South Sudan Independence Movement (SSIM) militia - sought revenge. When they encountered two other SAF soldiers in the street, they shot them on the spot, sparking a spiral into greater violence. "[Subsequently,] both heavily armed groups went into a nearby residential area but avoided a direct confrontation," the observer said. "Instead, the SSIM soldiers shot Arab civilians, while the SAF killed [alleged] SSIM supporters." The presence of the two government-aligned militia groups, the SSIM in Rubkona and the South Sudan Unity Movement (SSUM) in Bentiu, contributed to a highly volatile security situation in the two towns during the civil war. A degree of stability returned after the two militias formally agreed to join the SPLA under the 9 January 2006 Juba Declaration, signed by Paulino Matip, former leader of the SSUM and current deputy chief of staff of the SPLA forces. Tensions can easily flare up, however. The streets are awash with armed militiamen and soldiers, as the SAF and the SPLA keep troops in the area and the two militias largely maintain separate forces, despite their formal alliance with the SPLA. "The SAF has three garrisons in town - their largest deployment in the south," a political analyst said. "At the same time, the SPLA is bringing in large numbers of troops that have withdrawn from eastern Sudan, which leads to tensions." "Although the SPLA keeps most of its forces south of Bentiu, the former militia forces remain in town and the SSIM's barracks are located between two SAF garrisons in Rubkona," he added. Unity State contains the largest oil fields in Sudan. During the civil war some of the fiercest fighting took place in this area, in particular since 1999, when oil extraction began. The Sudanese government was determined to maintain its hold on the region, supplying its own troops and arming and financing local militia to clear the area for oil exploration and extraction as well as to fend off the SPLA. Political disagreements, power struggles and rivalries over the bounties of war, in addition to the ethnic make-up of the local militia, led to widespread inter-militia fighting, adding to the volatile security situation in the area. ds/mw/eo