SPLA denies attacking, and abducting Ugandan civilians
November 11, 2010 (JUBA) – The Sudan People’s Liberation Movement (SPLA) has denied it was involved in attacks and abductions that reportedly occurred on Wednesday in Uganda’s West Nile district of Moyo, Col. Phillip Aguer Panyang, the spokesman for the southern army said on Thursday.
The New Vision newspaper, a Ugandan local daily owned by the government reported on Thursday that SPLA soldiers attacked Dengolo village in Lefori sub-county and reportedly abducted 11 civilians.
The incident was the third in the area, which is located 12 miles from Moyo town at the Sudan-Uganda border, the newspaper said
However, in a phone interview with Sudan Tribune, Col. Panyang described the New Vision report as “malicious information which is baseless and totally incorrect.”
The SPLA spokesman said, “SPLA has no forces stationed at the border points. In any case what interest do our forces have in attacking neighboring Uganda?”
An official, who only identified himself to the New Vision reporter as Mang, currently working at the Southern Consulate in Gulu, Uganda was quoted saying out of the 11 people arrested, only two were Ugandans while the rest were Sudanese.
Those arrested, according to Mang, were allegedly implicated in illegal timber cutting in Lefori, which Southern Sudanese authorities say lies within the south Sudan not Uganda.
Col. Panyang said the media should learn to create distinctions between the SPLA forces and armed officials from south Sudan’s wildlife and forestry authorities.
“Many people think anyone moving along the borders armed belongs to the SPLA. That’s ridiculous. We also have armed wildlife and forestry authorities who oversee forest reserves,” the SPLA spokesperson told Sudan Tribune.
The incident was the latest in a series of attacks that Southern Sudanese soldiers have been accused of carrying out over the disputed border since 2008.
Last year, Sudanese civilians attacked Ugandan farmers in Lefori, killing many and destroyed their crops. This prompted a meeting between President Yoweri Museveni and his Southern Sudan counterpart, Salva Kiir Mayardit.
The meeting agreed to verify and demarcate the border, although the question of who carries out the verification exercise still remains a contentious issue. The border is due to be demarcated after Southern Sudan’s independence referendum in January.
(ST)
Anyang
SPLA denies attacking, and abducting Ugandan civilians
The SPLA need to painstakingly excute their policies within the bidding laws, otherwise they are ruining their status if this allegation are deemed to be true.
Samir mahmoud
SPLA denies attacking, and abducting Ugandan civilians
Dear All
Beware the ambitions and machinations of the megalomaniac Hima Emperor Musivini.
Critic_Ngueny
SPLA denies attacking, and abducting Ugandan civilians
Dear all
Those allegations may be true some times but the question is,who is always behind those incidents ? The simple answer to the question is and it will be,Khartoum Government because it uses to send people to do such things in the name of the Sudan people’s liberation army SPLA/M in order to ruin our relationship with Ugandans in Uganda.
Critic Ngueny from Bor town.I am ready with the words of most destruction (WMD)but,but, but ,but time has not yet come.
makuei
SPLA denies attacking, and abducting Ugandan civilians
That’s very unusual, SPLA and the Ugandan populace neither have any grudge nor do they have any score to settle. It’s quite usual, though, for any body to place himself/herself in the middle and report anything rubbish to cause collusion between countries that appear friendly.
My appeal to the leaders of the two nations, South Sudan and Uganda, is to treat this allegation as nonsense, but timely monitor events at the border as any group may cause havoc and tag itself as SPLA, especially in this period that is very crucial to us.
Raphael Makuei
Matiop Panchol
SPLA denies attacking, and abducting Ugandan civilians
Dear readers,
I believe that SPLA can not attack and abduct Ugandan civilians. This is just a distortion of what really happened. As Col. Aguer noted, the reporters must have confused SPLA with other armed authorities in South Sudan such the Wildlife and Forest authories.
The said abducted civilians must have been illegal loggers cutting down trees on South Sudan land who got arrested by the authorities and then media inappropriately reported the story with or without intention to flare up tension. Since the reporting newspaper was Ugandan, it is possible that the story was biasedly reported.
This is, however, worth of investigation in order to further enlighten the readers of what really happened. In the light of this incident, however, the Government of Southern Sudan should give appropriate identification for all armed authorities that patrol the border area. All officers who go on patrol should wear appropriate and uniform and badge that identify which authority they come from so as to prevent future confusions between SPLA and other armed authorities.
Thank you all.