Gunfire breaks out at the home of South Sudan's former spy chief who is under house arrest

Heavy gunfire erupted late Thursday in South Sudan’s capital of Juba at the home of the country's former spy chief who has been under house arrest for the past two months, residents said.

According to witnesses, soldiers exchanged fire with Gen. Akol Koor’s security guards in Juba's high-end neighbourhood of Thongpiny for about an hour.

Army spokesperson Lul Ruai Koang said two people were injured.

“There was a misunderstanding between the army and security forces deployed at the home,” he said and added that more details would be provided on Friday.

Koor has been under house arrest since early October after he was fired from the intelligence service. He was also appointed a state governor and sacked from that position before taking office.

He had been the intelligence boss since 2011, when South Sudan became independent from Sudan.

The government has not commented about Koor’s house arrest and reasons for sacking.

A witness to the gunfire, Ter Manyang Gatwech, said he was in the Thongpiny area when the gunshots started and that people closed their shops in a rush, running for cover.

The area is near the military headquarters and the country’s main airport.

South Sudan remains fragile despite a 2018 peace agreement that ended a five-year civil war in which more than 400,000 people died.

President Salva Kiir and his former rival turned deputy Riek Machar have been in charge of implementing the peace agreement, but critics say it has taken longer to be fully implemented.

The country’s elections that were scheduled for December but were postponed for two years to allow time for key aspects of the peace agreement to be fully implemented and provide the electoral body time to conduct voter registration.