S. Sudan rebel group hold hostage Manyo county commissioner

October 31, 2015 (JUBA) – South Sudan’s new rebel group have claimed control of Manyo county headquarters and thats its commissioner, Rajeb Deng Ajak is being held hostage.

“Wedokona town is our headquarters. All of us are here. The county commissioner is with us. The local authorities are with us. Everything is okay. There is no problem. Our forces have been working to provide protection and security to the civilians since the forces of Salva Kiir have since Thursday been launching attacks on our positions but we have been repulsing them”, Yoanes Okij, head of the Upper Nile rebel goup said Saturday.

Upper Nile’s information minister, Yor Akec, confirmed this in an exclusive interview with Sudan Tribune, saying they lost contact with Manyo county’s commissioner since Thursday.

“It is already news, not a new thing. They have been attacking our territories since Thursday and we have not had contact with Manyo county commissioner. Civilians have fled and we don’t know what they are fighting for. The peace agreement has been signed. These activities are now a clear violation of the ceasefire agreement”, said Akec.

On Friday, a group calling itself Tiger Faction New Forces (TFNF) announced in a statement extended to Sudan Tribune on Friday that they decided to take up arms to fight the government of President Salva Kiir until he reverses the order on 28 new states.

“The un-constitutional Presidential Order decree by Kiir has left us with no choice but to wage a protracted armed struggle against his government and the corrupt clique in Juba,” said the TFNF’s Okij who identified himself as the rebel’s commander in chief.

He vowed to fight the government in Juba until President Kiir revoked decree 36/2015.

President Kiir, according to the statement, was attempting to give away the land of ethnic Shilluk tribe in Upper Nile state to members of a section of ethnic Dinka from which he comes.

The group, which is predominantly composed of ethnic Shilluk members, charged that the order was a desperate attempt to derail and frustrate the implementation of the peace agreement reached last August.

The statement said the new territorial administrative division was a “flagrant violation” of the constitution particularly articles 55 (3), 59 (a), 86 (1) 85 (2) and 86 (5), 162 (1), (2), (3) and 101 (f).

The new rebel group accused President Kiir of attempting to give Chollo (Shilluk) land to the Dinka, threatening the national security of South Sudan warning that the Order open the door for conflict and Balkanization of the country.

“The Establishment Order adversely affected the tribal territorial boundaries of people of South Sudan including, the Chollo Kingdom. One of its ramifications is the division of Chollo kingdom into two parts with some in one state west of the Nile and others in the east of the Nile. The overall objective of such division is to ensure tribal domination of others tribes including Chollo in the newly established Dinka’s states,” further stressed the statement.

The new rebellion, if confirmed, may threaten the ongoing efforts to implement the security arrangements specially in the South Sudan’s oil-rich Upper Nile state.

In July this year, another Shilluk group commanded by Major General Johnson Olony, merged with the SPLM-IO opting for a national agenda instead of tribal claims.

(ST)