VZCZCXRO8689
PP RUEHBC RUEHBZ RUEHDE RUEHDU RUEHGI RUEHJO RUEHKUK RUEHMA RUEHMR
RUEHPA RUEHRN RUEHROV RUEHTRO
DE RUEHKH #1727 3100559
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
P 060559Z NOV 07
FM AMEMBASSY KHARTOUM
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 9085
INFO RUEHZO/AFRICAN UNION COLLECTIVE
RUEHEE/ARAB LEAGUE COLLECTIVE
RUCNFUR/DARFUR COLLECTIVE
RUCNIAD/IGAD COLLECTIVE
RUEHGG/UN SECURITY COUNCIL COLLECTIVE

UNCLAS KHARTOUM 001727 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SIPDIS 
 
DEPARTMENT FOR A/S FRAZER, S/E NATSIOS, AND AF/SPG 
NSC FOR PITTMAN AND HUDSON 
ADDIS ABABA FOR USAU 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PGOV PREL KPKO UN AU SU
SUBJECT: THREE POLICE OFFICERS KILLED BY SPLA/JIU SOLDIERS 
IN YAMBIO, SOUTHERN SUDAN 
 
 ¶1.  According to several sources including UNMIS Police 
reports, a group of six Joint Integrated Unit (JIU) soldiers 
shot and killed three police officers in Yambio, the capital 
of Western Equatoria State in Southern Sudan. Initial reports 
indicate that three SSPS (Southern Sudan police) senior 
officers were gunned down the evening of November 4, 2007 in 
an inter-tribal squabble.  The victims have been identified 
as Maj. Joseph Eriminio, Lt. Col. Abbud, and acting state 
commissioner Brig. Gen. Michael Setib. UNMIS police officers 
witnessed the incident and filed "flash" reports after 
fleeing the shoot-out.  The slain policemen were reportedly 
from the Azande tribe, while the JIU soldiers (provided to 
the JIU by the SPLA) are reportedly Dinka. 
 
¶2.  The incident allegedly began after SSPS officers arrested 
one or several JIU soldiers as part of an investigation into 
the apparent murder of another JIU soldier whose body was 
found November 3. On the evening of November 4, five JIU 
soldiers entered the Yambio police headquarters and, after 
quarreling with the SSPS officers, forcibly released their 
comrade from jail.  Some ten minutes later, the same six JIU 
junior officers (all Dinkas) entered the police headquarters 
again and shot the three police.  The UNMIS report states 
that the reason for the shooting appears to have been 
dissatisfaction on the part of the JIU soldiers over not 
having been informed that the murdered man was a fellow JIU 
soldier, and over how the murder investigation was being 
carried out. 
 
¶3.  Comment:  According to their report, UNMIS police regard 
the incident as serious but isolated.  However, the incident 
illustrates internal Southern fissures (in this case, 
possibly tribal) that can easily escalate into violence in 
volatile Southern Sudan.  The lack of command and control in 
the SPLA demonstrated in this case underlines the importance 
of troop withdrawals and verifiable security arrangements 
along the North-South border. 
FERNANDEZ