State Police Spokesperson Capt. Guot Guot Akol. | File photo.

Police in Northern Bahr el Ghazal have collected over 70 firearms from unauthorized persons.

This was during a mini disarmament in Aweil town on Tuesday, September 26, 2023.

According to the state police spokesperson, the firearms collected during the exercise include, 2 PKM, 59 Ak47, 8 pistols and 2 hand grenades.

Capt. Guot Guot Akol adds that the search targeted unauthorized persons and members of organized forces who are keeping their weapons at home.

“We are not targeting civilians alone but also targeting security agents that are always keeping their guns inside their residential houses,” Guot told Eye Radio from Aweil town.

“The guns must be in the store and during the collection, we managed to collect, 2 PKM, 59 Ak47, 8 Pistols and 2 hand grenades, these are the numbers we have collected so far.” 

Captain Guot Guot is now advising security personnel to keep their firearms in the store when off duty citing, that the government is capable of protecting the citizens and their properties.    

“We know Northern Bahr el Ghazal State is very peaceful and it is under full control of the government and under the protection of the police and all security agencies. So, there is no need for any person to have a gun in his house. This was the purpose and it is for the common good of the citizen.”

A week ago, the South Sudan National Police Service with support from UN Agencies conducted an awareness in Wau town of Western Bahr el Ghazal State on how to turn firearms into development.

The team sensitized the state leadership, traditional leaders and communities on voluntary civilian disarmament projects funded by the UN Development Programme.

Major Kuol Gabriel Nyok, the Senior certified Instructor for Small Arms and light weapons at the South Sudan National Police Service says about 600,000 firearms were in the hands of unauthorized persons in the country in 2020.

“It is well documented in that strategy, the voluntary civilian’s disarmament strategy in the survey that was conducted, up to 600,000 arms are in the hands of unlicensed people,” said Major Kuol.

“People who are not authorized by law to carry the arms meaning the arms that are in the hands of the civil population are more than even the arms that are being carried by organized forces. So basically, that is the total number of arms that we have as a survey conducted.”