No grenade blasted in Aweil – Minister
The Northern Bahr el Ghazal State Minister for Information, William Anyuon Kuol, has disputed claims that a grenade exploded on Saturday at a party in Udhum Payam, in Aweil West County.
According to Kuol, the incident could be linked to a generator that exploded because there was no evidence to confirm that it was a grenade that exploded. Two people died, and 39 others were injured during the incident.
“39 people were injured, and two other boys were killed. We went there as a committee sent to visit the area where the party was taking place, but we found out that this was not a grenade explosion, ” Anyuon explained.
“We found that there were two generators put in the same place, with a full 20-litre jerrycan of fuel between the two generators. That generator was the one working, and it sparked the fire into that fuel that was in the jerrycan, thus causing a fire which burned people.”
The state information minister said they did not see any signs of the grenade explosion and that the people who were in the hospital only got burnt.
“We searched the area and could not find any signs of a grenade explosion. Even the people who were injured, we came, and we saw them. We established that many of them were burned; it was that fuel that was burning the people, ” he stated.
“We formed a committee, and it is now investigating [the case] to know whether it was a generator that exploded or a grenade. The committee will come up with the finding, and we shall see what the issue was.”
Earlier statement
However, the Northern Bahr el Ghazal State Police Commissioner, Capt. Guot Guot said the police investigation showed that it was a grenade explosion that caused the fatal accident.
“I gave my report yesterday [and] I said that it was a grenade that exploded because when we visited the place, eyewitnesses said they saw someone throwing a grenade,” said Guot.
“The investigation is ongoing, and we are now waiting for the accused to be brought in. This is where we are going to establish the truth about this.”
The incident
The news dominated the streets yesterday, with many media houses reporting it as a bomb blast. There are media houses that reported it as a grenade explosion, while others included the incident of the generator as one of the causes of injuries.
The incident occurred at a party organised by the youth to celebrate their football victory on Saturday night. However, a drunken soldier is reported to have dropped a grenade into the crowd, thus causing the reported injuries. The accused was named Amuk Abut.
“The casualties would have been severe if it had not been for God’s mercy. He left with another grenade, but he is being pursued, ” Akol said.
Guot disclosed that an investigation into the possible cause of the incident is ongoing as the police are pursuing the suspect.
The Aweil Civil Hospital Director, Wol Wol Akeen, told the City Review that they had admitted 24 victims.
“Yesterday morning we received 24 injured people. Nine [of them] were children, and the rest were adults. Two [of them] passed away, ” Wol said.
“According to the report, the injuries varied because one of the children was admitted to the MSF site because he had abdominal injuries and was taken for abdominal surgery, and the other three adults had fractures,” he added.
The medical director said two adults were in critical condition because of a generator that burned people after the grenade exploded.
