Shootout at the home of South Sudan’s former intelligence chief

Akol Koor had been under house arrest since his dismissal in October but remained an influential figure after heading the National Security Service since independence in 2011, local media reported.

The shots were fired in the evening in Juba, the capital of a country that has been plagued by persistent political infighting and ethnic violence since separating from Sudan.

According to an AFP journalist, the battle lasted about an hour.

A military source believed to be involved in the operation told the Sudans Post newspaper that Kur was arrested after fierce fighting that reportedly left dozens of his soldiers killed or wounded.

In a warning to its staff on the ground, the UN said the shooting was linked to the detention of a former intelligence chief and advised people to take shelter.

However, it was unclear whether Koor was actually arrested.

Confirming the shooting, military spokesman Lul Ruai Koang said it involved “our own security forces who were deployed there to provide additional security.”

“We don’t know what happened and this misunderstanding escalated into a shootout,” Koang said, adding that two soldiers were wounded before the situation was brought under control.

Images circulating on social media and published by local news outlets showed traffic stopped near the former intelligence chief’s residence and drivers abandoning their vehicles after the shooting.

– Postponed elections –

In October, South Sudanese President Salva Kiir fired the powerful head of his intelligence agency without explanation.

The move comes two weeks after the government again postponed the country’s first-ever election for two years.

South Sudan is one of the poorest countries on the planet, despite large oil reserves, and ranks 177 out of 180 countries in Transparency International’s Corruption Perceptions Index.

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