South Sudan declines to confirm Ugandan troop presence
March 12, 2025 (JUBA) – South Sudan declined on Wednesday to confirm the deployment of Ugandan troops amid rising political and military tensions, raising fears of a potential escalation between rival factions and a return to full-scale conflict.
South Sudan’s Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, Ramadan Mahommed Abdallah Goc, told Sudan Tribune that the matter was for defence, interior and security institutions to address.
“These are defence and security issues. And you know where they are. The minister of defence, the minister of interior and the minister of national security are better positioned to provide the information you are asking,” Goc said.
His comments followed reports of a deployment on Tuesday of special forces from the Uganda People’s Defence Forces (UPDF) to South Sudan’s capital, Juba. A UPDF spokesman and its chief of defence forces later confirmed the deployment. However, South Sudanese government officials did not confirm or deny the deployment despite public sightings of Ugandan troops at Juba International Airport.
The circumstances surrounding the UPDF deployment remain unclear. Neither the Ugandan nor South Sudanese parliaments have issued clarifications.
Security and political analysts linked the deployment to recent tensions and military activity, including attacks by armed youth groups known as the White Army, allegedly linked to the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement-In Opposition (SPLM-IO). These groups reportedly attacked and killed a South Sudan People’s Defence Forces (SSPDF) general in Nasir town, Upper Nile State, escalating tensions between forces loyal to President Salva Kiir and those of First Vice President Riek Machar, who leads the SPLM-IO.
The SPLM-IO-linked groups also overran Nasir, killing numerous people, including an SSPDF commander.
The violence prompted Kiir’s administration to intensify a crackdown on Machar’s allies, with the detention of the petroleum minister and several senior military officials aligned with the First Vice President.
These developments have raised renewed concerns about the stability of the 2018 peace agreement, which ended a five-year civil war.
A video clip circulating on South Sudanese social media platforms contained an audio recording of UPDF spokesman Major General Felix Kulayigye confirming the troop deployment. “The mission is to support the government of South Sudan due to the growing insecurity in the country,” Kulayigye said.
The military spokesman emphasized that the deployment served the interests of both Ugandans and South Sudanese citizens. “If there were no agreement, this would constitute an invasion,” he added. “Our forces are already in the country. The mission will continue as long as the security threats persist. We will determine the withdrawal timeline based on developments. I cannot disclose the number of troops involved.”