GAMBELLA – 28 Dec 2017
Six members of the SPLA army have been arrested for stealing and selling firearms in the Gambella region of neighbouring Ethiopia.
A top official at South Sudan’s embassy in Addis Ababa, on condition of anonymity, told Radio Tamazuj today that six South Sudanese soldiers were arrested since June while selling AK-47 rifles to Ethiopian citizens.
“We have written a letter to the ministry of defense of Ethiopia last week to take those soldiers to federal court so that they face the law. We cannot interfere with another country’s laws.” he said.
The government official pointed out that the six soldiers crossed into neighbouring Ethiopia without proper documents. “We also asked the government of Ethiopia to send those soldiers back to South Sudan after the trial,” he said.
He revealed that the six soldiers were members of the SPLA’s Division Eight. “They were arrested after they left Pochalla County,” he said.
An Ethiopian national in Dima area who preferred anonymity said he saw South Sudanese soldiers arrested for allegedly selling guns to the locals. “Those people complained that they sold the guns because they were hungry. They said they crossed into Ethiopia illegally because they were desperate,” he said.