South Sudan seeks guidance from its US Embassy over citizen’s killing in Canada

By Ruot George

South Sudan has directed its embassy in Washington DC to follow a case in which its citizen was killed by police in Canada.

The incident occurred in Calgary on February 19 when Latjor Kuony Tuel was shot at several times and killed in what police said was an act of aggression towards a police dog.

The family of the deceased however claim its an attack targeting black people.

“Sometimes those are South Sudanese who are Canadians at the same time. We don’t want to rush to make statements, we have asked our Embassy in Washington to tell us what happened,” Deng Dau, the Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs told Juba Echo by phone on Friday.

According to family sources, Tuel arrived in Canada while fleeing violence in Sudan after he was recruited as child soldier during the Sudan’s civil war that led to independence in 2011.

Writing on her Facebook page, his daughter, Nalinglat Latjor said her father was struggling with post traumatic stress disorder at the time of his death.

“Like many who fled the civil war, Latjor battled with his past, suffering from PTSD caused by his time as a former child soldier, she said.

“He was going through a mental health crisis at the time of his murder. A clear cry for help.”