South Sudan’s President Salva Kiir held an urgent meeting of top security brass on Friday after a shootout at the home of powerful former spy chief Akol Koor, who was sacked almost two months ago amid rumours of a coup plot.
Gunfire erupted on Thursday evening in the capital Juba, sparking concerns about the stability of the world’s youngest country that is already plagued by power struggles, ethnic infighting and a deep economic malaise.
The shooting around the home of Koor, who was fired by Kiir in early October and placed under house arrest, caused panic among local residents before it was contained after about an hour.
Following the meeting, South Sudan People’s Defence Forces (SSPDF) spokesman Lul Ruai Koang said the incident took place after a “misunderstanding” between security forces attempting to relocate the ex-head of the National Security Services.
Koang said Koor had now agreed to the relocation “with his dear wife, one bodyguard, and a cook” elsewhere in the city. He would be provided with additional army protection at his new residence, but Koang emphasised he was not under “their (army) detention.”
He said four people, two civilians and two soldiers, had been killed during the confrontation.
The meeting convened by Kiir included the heads of defence, police, national security and military intelligence. A source in the presidency press unit said Koor was also present.
The Sudans Post newspaper quoted a security official as saying the meeting had “resolved all outstanding tensions” and that the spy chief and his family “have been assured of their safety”.
In an alert to its staff on the ground on Thursday, the United Nations in South Sudan had said the shooting was linked to the arrest of the former spymaster and advised people to take cover.
Koang told AFP that Koor “remains at his house”, and denied claims circulating on social media that he had fled to the UN compound in Juba.
There was a heavy deployment of military forces around his home in the Thongpiny district, an AFP correspondent said, but traffic has resumed and people were going about their daily business.
‘Remain vigilant’
Police spokesman John Kassara said the situation was now calm but that Thongpiny remained sealed off and residents “should remain vigilant”.
Koor became head of the feared National Security Services (NSS) after South Sudan’s independence in 2011 but was sacked in October leading to widespread speculation he had been planning to overthrow Kiir.
After his dismissal from the NSS, Koor was appointed governor of Warrap State, Kiir’s home state, but this was abruptly revoked by the president before he took the oath of office.
Koang said there had been a “misunderstanding” between two security services forces present at Koor’s residence when a third unit arrived for the relocation.
“That was the start of the armed confrontation that you heard,” he said.
Four people, two servicemen and two civilians, were killed in the incident, he said, and two civilians were wounded.
Koor’s sacking came just two weeks after Kiir again postponed by two years, to December 2026, the first elections in the nation’s history.
The delay has exasperated the international community, which has been pressing the country’s leaders to complete a transitional process, including unifying rival armed forces and drawing up a constitution.
The NSS was at the centre of controversy in July when parliament approved amendments to legislation allowing the agency to continue to arrest — without a warrant — anyone accused of offences against the state, raising alarm among rights groups and South Sudan’s international partners.
The country has struggled to recover from a brutal civil war between forces loyal to Kiir and his now deputy Riek Machar from 2013 to 2018 that killed about 400,000 people and drove millions from their homes.
It remains one of the poorest and most corrupt countries on the planet and continues to be plagued by chronic instability and climate disasters.
