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An attack on Eye Radio journalist at his home in Juba last night has left his brother wounded.
Obaj Okuj was attacked by armed men at his house near Bilpam at around 9 p.m.
Obaj says the four-armed robbers between 20 and 30 years of age were carrying AK47s.
After forcing him and his family members, including his mother to sit down, they asked him if he was a soldier and he told them he is a journalist.
The men – who according to Obaj, are South Sudanese – asked him to hand over whatever money he had, as one of them pointed the AK47 on his head and threatened to open fire.
He said the armed men then entered their rooms and took away all their valuables, including laptops and money.
Before leaving the house, the armed men spotted his elder brother Stephen Okuj who was outside the house and they shot him in the leg twice.
“I was at a shop near the house, and they entered the house and found my mother and my brothers Obaj and Natalee. They put them under gunpoint and all of them were carrying Kalashnikovs,” the 39-year old, Stephen Okuj narrated to Eye Radio on Wednesday.
“They asked my brother Obaj whether he is a soldier or not, he told them he is a journalist, then they entered our rooms, they spent almost 30 minutes in the house. They took away with them Obaj’s office laptop, they also took phones and other valuables from my mother’s room. When they came outside, one of them came to us and shot me in my leg and they ran away.”
Incidents of armed robberies are common in various residential areas in the capital, Juba.
Last month, the National Security Service arrested and handed over to police over 30 suspected criminals for committing various crimes, including night robberies and killings in Juba.
The 33 suspects, comprising South Sudanese, a Ugandan and a Rwandan national – were alleged to have also played a role in forex bureau and bank robberies in the capital.
The men, who used a range of weapons, including PKM, AK-47, and pistols, were caught following investigations.
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