Five armed robbers have been confirmed dead in a gunfire exchange with organized forces near the central bank of South Sudan in Juba on Friday after the robbers stole money from a parked car at hai Tijaria near the Ministry of Petroleum.
“Five armed robbers, all South Sudanese nationals, were shot and killed in an exchange of fire with members of the police near the central bank this afternoon,” Police Spokesperson Maj. Gen. Daniel Justin, told the media on Friday evening.
Police said the robbery happened at 3 PM and the incident was reported to the police to apprehend the robbers.
“The robbers’ car was followed by the police as it was moving towards Juba Market; and when they reached the central bank, the robbers opened fire at our forces when our forces tried to apprehend them,” Justin said.
Members of the public and social media users alleged and circulated that the robbery was attempted against the Central Bank of South Sudan.
Justin debunked the rumors citing that the confrontation between the robbers and police outside the bank has nothing to do with the institution.
“The government institutions are safe, and the incident had nothing to do with the central bank. What happened is that the incident happened near the central bank. So what circulated on social media that there was a robbery at the bank is untrue,” Justin added.
In a brief statement, the Central Bank of South Sudan confirmed the incident, saying it was not close to what the public claimed.
“…the incident which occurred at the vicinity of the central Bank, has nothing to do with the bank at all as it took place outside of the Bank,” the Bank confirmed.
In the last few days of this months, several incidents of robbery have been reported, including killing of boda-boda riders and robbing of motorcycles.
Early this week, a car belonging to media advocacy organization –Association for Media Development in South Sudan – was followed from the bank to the institution compound by armed robbers.
Upon reaching the gate, the attackers opened fire at the car and made away with more than $5,000 from the staff at gunpoint.
