Confusion and mystery persist in South Sudan after the home of once-powerful former spy chief General Akol Koor Kuc was rocked by deadly gunfire.
The battle lasted more than 50 minutes on Thursday evening, prompting locals in the capital Juba to close their businesses and stay indoors for their safety.
General Kuc, once a key member of President Salva Kiir’s inner circle, was dismissed as head of the National Security Service (NSS) last month and placed under house arrest last week.
Two soldiers and two civilians were shot dead after a “serious misunderstanding” among troops deployed at General Kuc’s house, an army spokesman told the BBC.
General Kuc was safe after the incident, army spokesman Major General Lul Ruai Koang told the BBC after the gunfire subsided.
Authorities have not revealed what caused the “misunderstanding” at General Kuc’s home.
Despite the 2018 peace deal to end the five-year civil war, insecurity remains in many parts of South Sudan, including the capital and its periphery.
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However, at a press conference on Friday evening, General Koang announced the death toll and said the two civilians killed in the incident were a student and a lawyer. The pair happened to be near General Kuc’s home in the Thongping suburb and were caught in the crossfire.
In addition to the two soldiers who died, two others were injured.
General Koang told the BBC that an investigation is underway into the cause of Thursday’s shooting.
He said that before the incident, General Kuc’s freedom of movement was “restricted” – but the army spokesman could not say why this decision had been made.
After the former spy chief was informed of the restriction, “additional security forces” were sent to his residence, General Koang said.
“We had a platoon-sized force deployed outside his residence, and we had a smaller force… inside the compound.
“Then we don’t know what happened. There was a very serious misunderstanding between the two forces, which resulted in a firefight,” General Koang said.
He said that after receiving reports of the shooting, the head of South Sudan’s armed forces, General Santino Deng, arrived on the scene and ordered troops to stop shooting.
General Kuc has been transferred from his home in Thongping to his second residence in the Jebel suburb, south of Juba, General Koang said.
On October 2, President Kirr announced by presidential decree that he had fired the general. However, he gave no reasons for this move.
Analysts said General Kuc’s resignation may have signaled an internal power struggle, with some believing the general would one day be in line to take over from the 73-year-old president.
It is not known how old the former spy is, but he is believed to be in his late 50s or early 60s.
After being dismissed from the post of spy chief, General Kuc was appointed governor of the president’s home state of Warrap.
Some believed the move could help quell violence in Warrup, one of South Sudan’s conflict hotspots. The job as governor would also have given General Kuc experience in a civilian role, which some say would have been a way to prepare him for political life.
However, just a few days later, General Kuc’s role as governor was revoked by the president.
More BBC stories from South Sudan:
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