Security Beefed Up In Western Equatoria For Sudanese Referendum

Security has been beefed up in Western Equatoria State as the referendum got underway.

On Saturday, 8 January over 700 new police recruits graduated to provide security around the state capital Yambio and the nine counties in the state.

Speaking to the press during the marching parade in Yambio the police boss in charge of training Colonel James Monday said the state has increased its security forces with the graduation of 734 police forces to secure its future and her final walk to freedom.

“The new graduates will immediately be deployed to the ten counties of the state”, he said.

During the recent visit of the SPLM Secretary General Pagan Amum to the state Governor Joseph Bakosoro repeatedly made strong calls to the GoSS to provide his state with security personnel in order to protect the citizens to vote in a safer environment.

“You never know when these terrorist LRA and Arab-nomads called Ambororo will strike”, the Governor had said.

The state has been grappling with the LRA menace with several families fleeing their homes for fear of attacks.

There were fears that this could affect the voter turnout during the referendum.

However, voting started smoothly in all the 187 referendum polling centres in the state.