S. Sudan rebels say Bentiu has fallen, as army denies claims
October 29, 2014 (KAMPALA) – South Sudan’s rebel faction has announced on Wednesday that its forces are in control of Unity state’s oil-producing capital Bentiu, accusing pro-government troops of disowning a ceasefire agreement that was inked on 23 May between the country’s rival leaders.
He said government attacks on their positions in their north constituted a violation of the ceasefire deal.
“The government troops were attacking our various positions in the northern part of the state between last week and this week. We were responding in self-defence. We cannot wait for the enemy to kill us, so we have decided to [launch] counter attacks,” said Gew by satellite phone.
He told Sudan Tribune the government appeared to prefer military action rather than negotiation.
“Our leadership opted for peaceful dialogue to settle our disputes with the government, but some individual within the government are not happy about peace because they know when peace comes they will be victims of arrest for [the] murder of civilians at the beginning of the crisis,” he said.
Gew says it is not for the first time that the SPLA has launched attacks on rebel positions while engaged in ongoing peace negotiations between the warring parties in the Ethiopian capital, Addis Ababa.
“Bentiu, Nasir, Bor and Malakal were under our full control between April and May; Look what the government did and they provoked us in those areas,” he said.
Several residents residing in UN camps in the area and aid workers have separately confirmed the fall of Bentiu to rebel forces under the command of Maj. Gen. Peter Gatdet Yaka.
CONFLICTING REPORTS
Conflicting reports are emerging over who is in control of the town, as fighting continues to rage.
Government sources from the area, including the state security advisor on ground, John Malok, initially admitted that rebel forces had penetrated the town, but were subsequently driven back on Wednesday. According to Malok, the fighting erupted at around 10am (local time) and continued until rebel forces were reportedly repulsed by 12pm.
In a statement broadcast by the state-owned South Sudan Television (SSTV) on Wednesday, SPLA spokesperson Colonel Philip Aguer dismissed the reports as untrue.
“That is a lie. Our forces managed to defeat the rebels and Bentiu after about four hours of fighting. We are in control of the town,” Aguer told SSTV.
He confirmed that rebels have launched an attack on Bentiu and that the fighting was still continuing, with the government forces controlling the town and the surrounding areas, including the town’s military barracks.
The differing accounts from on the ground in Bentiu suggest both sides are keen to protect their own interests.
The government, for example, will be reluctant to concede the loss of the strategic town as such a defeat could be interpreted as a sign of military weakness, while rebels on the other hand will not want to be seen as being the aggressors given ongoing international pressure for the warring parties to settle their differences through peaceful dialogue.
In a statement released by the International Governmental Authority on Development (IGAD), mediators blamed the rebel faction for initiating the latest clashes and condemned the latest outbreak of violence.
Meanwhile, UN sources in Rubkona, say they saw government forces on the move south-west of the town with heavy weapons mounted on pick-up trucks, but did not comment on who is presently in control of the town.
Fighting has continued for the past three days in northern areas of Bentiu, including its oil fields.
It remains unclear who instigated the latest outbreak of violence, with both sides accusing each other of responsibility.
REBELS BLAME GOVERNMENT FORCES
The spokesperson of rebel leader Riek Machar also accused government forces of allegedly violating the cessation of hostilities agreement by provoking rebel forces in Unity state, resulting in the capture of the oil-rich town on Wednesday.
“It has become a habit that government forces attack our positions and rush to blame the violations on us. How do they explain shelling our defence positions for the last three days?” James Gatdek Dak said, adding that rebel forces had the right to self-defence and to pursue their attackers.
He dismissed allegations that the opposition forces were ordered by Machar to attack Bentiu, saying they were simply responding to continuous shelling by the government troops.
Dak also accused the government of compromising the sovereignty of South Sudan by inviting a foreign army from Uganda to take charge of the country’s security.
Government and rebel forces have been engaged in an armed struggle since a political dispute in the country’s ruling party in mid-December last year turned violent.
The conflict was initially contained in the capital, Juba, but quickly to spread to other parts of the country, sparking fears of a full-scale civil war.
Unity state has been a flashpoint for violence, changing hands several times since the conflict broke out.
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– S. Sudan’s rival forces clash over control of oil-rich town