Rebels no longer a threat in Jonglei – SPLA

July 10, 2012 (JONGLEI) – Security in Jonglei State has significantly improved a senior member of South Sudan’s army (SPLA), Kuol Deim Kuol, said this week. Speaking about the rebel groups in South Sudan’s largest state, Kuol said that the fighters of the late George Athor have all being integrated to the South Sudanese army after a peace deal signed with his group.

The SPLA general also denied the presence of David Yau Yau in Pibor saying the army is prepared to deal with him if he returns to the county.

Kuol, who is in overall command for Operation Restore Peace and disarmament in Jonglei State had called upon the civilian population to cooperate with army to track down people who are still hiding unauthorised firearms in residential areas.

Speaking during South Sudan’s anniversary of independence in Bor stadium, Lt- Gen Kuol stated that disarmament had been successful. Rebel groups in the state had also decreased their activities, he said.

Jonglei State is now relatively stable after following a mass disarmament campaign and peace process held earlier this year in response to a series of cattle raids, abductions, destruction of property and reprisal attacks between rival ethnic groups.

Kuol said that the SPLA have discover number of abducted children and women who were abducted during inter-communal violence between the Murle, Lou Nuer and Dinka tribes. Those abducted people are being reunited with their family by state government.

DISARMAMENT IN JONGLEI STATE

In February 2012, South Sudanese President General Salva Kiir Mayardit issued a decree to the SPLA to carryout intensive disarmament in Jonglei State. The disarmament was follow by peace and reconciliation program campaign in the state.

Lt-Gen Kuol disclosed that disarmament had been successful achieved in Jonglei state. He announced that since disarmament began in February, the army had managed to collect 11,521 firearms from the civilian population.

The SPLA also managed to return 29 children and women who were abducted during inter-communal violence. Three children of the Murle tribe, which is based in Pibor County, were found in Nyirol county. They are in Langken, the man town in Nyirol county.

His explained that “unrest of robbery has reduced across Jonglei state. In May we had countered 26 assaults from cattle bandit. In June only we had only 6 attacks to SPLA positions.”

There have been no attacks in Great Akobo, Duk and Twic East Counties in June, he reported. South Sudan’s army and police would use “all means” to defeat the raiders.

Violence against women in Pibor

The Murle community in Pibor and several other counties of Jonglei state have accused SPLA soldiers of raping women during the disarmament process.

However, the Kuol rejected the claims but said that those who had committed other human rights abuses during the campaign must face justice.

The senior SPLA official said that women who claimed they had been raped had been asked to come forward and single out the soldiers responsible. As yet no women have come forward to publicly make a claim against the army, he said.

Kuol did admit that “there is no discipline within our forces” and that this needed “to be improved”.

The “SPLA must continue disarming all civil populations”, he said, asking “everyone to cooperate with [the] SPLA by showing those people who are still hiding guns in their houses”.

The 15,000 soldiers stationed in Jonglei for the disarmament campaign would not leave it was “confirmed that Jonglei State [is] free from all unauthorised firearms”.

George Athor

When South Sudan became independent on 9 July 2011 the newest nation faced numerous security challenges including inter-communal violence and rebel groups fighting to overthrow the government in Juba.

The most prominent rebel leader, the late George Author, was a senior member of the SPLA and a former minister in South Sudan government.

He defected to bush when it was declared that he had lost the April 2010 election for the Jonglei State governorship to incumbent, Kuol Manyang Juuk. Following over a year and a half of insurgency, Athor was killed by SPLA intelligent forces in Central Equatoria State last year. Athor’s body was buried in his home town of Pigi County located in northern Jonglei State.

Speaking during the South Sudan independence celebrations in Bor stadium, SPLA Lt-Gen Kuol Deim Kuol, said that Jonglei State was free from rebel activities since Athor forces surrendered to the SPLA army.

Pigi and Pangak County were now free of rebel groups, he said.

Soldiers belonging to George Athor are now being “integrated into SPLA forces”, he said.

The only security threat in these areas were cattle raiders and bandits. “We are defending all those civil population we disarmed” he said.

David Yauyau

Another rebellion triggered by results in Jonglei’s elections in April 2010 was David Yauyau in Pibor County.

Kuol dismissed “talk” among civilians that Yauyau is attacking people in Pibor saying that those behind the reports were “liars”.

“I need everybody in Pibor and other part of Jonglei state to do their businesses without fear in mind, your SPLA forces are ready to dealt with him day and night with confident to capture Yauyau alive or dead” said Kuol, drawing cheers from the crown assembled in Bor for the independence celebrations.

Dak Kueth Deng

The self-proclaimed prophet Dak Kueth Deng, who resisted attempts to disarm him and his followers, was arrested in Ethiopia territory on June 6 during a joint military operation with the Ethiopian Army, the SPLA general said.

Kueth was captured in Gakguang district of the Gambella region of western Ethiopia. Diplomatic efforts are underway to have him deported to Juba.

Many of his the men loyal to him were killed during the operation against him, Kuol said.

The SPLA are waiting near the Ethiopian border for the Ethiopian government and local authorities in Gaknguang to decide whether Kueth will be transferred back to South Sudan.

Kuol appealed all of Jonglei’s population to adopt peace and reconciliation to heal the wounds created by the cycle of inter-communal that has blighted to region displacing over 100,000 people between December 2011 and February and 2012.

“Let us work for peace in Jonglei State. Peace cannot come to state with effort of one person, let us all work for peace”.

(ST)