South Sudan minister, bodyguard shot dead

South Sudan minister, bodyguard shot dead

2011-02-09 23:03:28 GMT+7 (ICT)

JUBA, SOUTHERN SUDAN (BNO NEWS) -- A minister in the government of Southern Sudan and his bodyguard were killed inside the minister's office in Juba, the Sudan Tribune reported.

The minister of Cooperatives and Rural Development, Jimmy Lemi Milla, was shot dead at around 10:45 am in his office by a man believed to be his brother-in-law, according to media reports.

Earlier reports said that the minister's driver was responsible for the shooting.

The assailant, who also killed the minister's bodyguard, was taken into custody. The motive for the shooting is believed to be personal rather than political.

The incident comes after referendum results confirmed that Southern Sudan would become the world's newest nation on July 9. The results released by the South Sudan Referendum Commission on Monday said 98.83 percent voted for separation from Sudan.

Reports of violence in Southern Sudan have emerged in the past weeks after the peaceful referendum in January. Last week, at least 50 people died in four days after a mutiny in the Sudan army spread through towns in south Sudan's Upper Nile state. The disagreement surfaced when loyalists of Gabriel Tang, who commanded a pro-Khartoum militia during the 1983 to 2005 civil war between north and south, refused to surrender their heavy weaponry.

The referendum was the culmination of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement signed in 2005 to end two decades of civil war between the Government of Sudan and the Sudan People's Liberation Movement/Army.

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