A clache of weapons collected during security search in Juba - Photo credit: Madrama James

The heads of security forces have announced that more than 200 firearms, including light machine guns and ammunition, were collected in a recent arms search in Juba.

The announcement followed a door-to-door search conducted over the several months in several neighbourhoods by joint security teams.

The weapons collected include AK-47 rifles, P‑K‑M bows, knives, and machetes during the one-day search, which targeted illegal firearms in the capital.

Addressing the media during an exhibition of the weapons this afternoon, Police Inspector General Abraham Manyuat Peter vowed to find every illegal gun and punish those who own them in violation of the law.

“We have done the house-to-house search, and we will do it again and again anytime. We want to send a message to criminals that you can hide or we didn’t manage to get you, but we will find and arrest you next time and you will face the law. We want gun to be in the hand of a soldier, and a soldier who has a mission,” he threatened.

General Manyuat said that only soldiers are legally allowed to possess arms for protection.

He warned that anyone hiding weapons should surrender them or face legal consequences.

He also clarified that legally registered firearms confiscated during the operation will have their registration updated and returned to their owners.

“As for the pistols, the ones we confiscated, if it is licensed, we will give it back to you officially, we also want to ensure that you are not carrying it just because you have a license, it should be renewed. For the light weapons, they are also dangerous because niggas use them at night and among themselves, and that create big problems,” he said.

This is not the first large-scale weapons collection in Juba. In April this year, the SSPDF announced that it had collected an estimated 4,000 weapons, including an anti-aircraft gun, from unauthorized individuals following a similar search in the city and its surroundings.

According to General Lul Ruai Koang, the weapons collected in that operation included twelve point seven-millimetre guns, R‑P‑Gs, P‑K‑M machine guns, and assault rifles such as A‑K‑M forty-seven, G three rifles, and pistols.