S. Sudan’s Unity state leadership protests armed opposition’s propaganda
November 8, 2015 (JUBA) – The goverment in South Sudan’s oil-rich Unity state has condemned in the strongest terms what it called fabrications being spread by youth from the country’s armed opposition faction currently residing in Uganda’s capital, Kampala.
“.. a matter fact, the small remaining units of rebels around the south of Panyijar county few weeks ago launches twin attacks on the government bases in Leer and Koch county respectively and they where repulsed back after several attempts, in the process of those attacks a lot of civilians who had been camping within the government vicinity where totally affected, children and old people had been greatly affected and some where dispersed whereby children and their mothers were separated and that is because of the rebels attacks which where launched on government bases even when they know civilians are residing in those towns,” partly reads the statement Sudan Tribune obtained.
The government also said it had all intelligence information about the rebels’ move and their whereabouts, but did not want to launch attacks on them due to the just signed peace agreement by President Kiir, which, as part of government, could not go against.
“Today [Saturday], the rebels accused government of the atrocities and mass raiding of cattle and humans whereby we don’t know what they are thinking. We wonder if this pathetic individuals understand peace or not , and the war is not something that could be the talk on social media when some of the rebels are not even near where the conflict is taking place, instead they are writing statement in far places like Uganda, Kenya and Addis Ababa whereby they are not even in control of anything in the state, apart from their loose propagandas which are being spread around the world to blind folded people”, further noted the statement.
“We the government of Unity state stand by the constitution of the Republic of South Sudan and we have clear mandates and objectives to protect and provide for the people of South Sudan regardless of where they are from and not engaging in lies like the opposition who are accusing us of abduction of children which as a government who are not for such characters of rebels or of unlawful groups who practices things the rebels claims that the government are doing instead they are trying to smear us,” it added.
The leadership in Unity State said it welcomes the United Nations mission in South Sudan (UNMISS) to verify the opposition’s claims and called on peace monitors to go witness the actualities on the ground so as to counteract all the ongoing propaganda.
“The Unity state government is for peace and for the unity of the people of South Sudan as stipulated in the recent agreement, its clear to the government of South Sudan, the IO and IGAD-Plus that IO shares as the results of the peace dividends will be respected by the Government of South Sudan and the state government, whereby the IO still will be given their 2 states dividend as stipulated in the agreement that both leaders had signed in August, we don’t question it and we don’t rejects that, but as the state Government we warns them to respect the agreement and respect the peace that had been signed instead of going around accusing us regularly, it’s a sign of hostility from the IO leadership,” the statement stressed.
“As a state government under the leader of Gen. Salva Kiir mayardit president of the Republic of South Sudan and the Governor of Unity State Dr Joseph Nguen Mantuil , we invites the Igadplus, Toika, African Union, UN Security council , Unmiss and other actors to call out loud and point out the violators of the peace agreement that was just recently signed , incitements on lies will not bring peace to the state and the country at large and as a government we will still work towards peaceful resolutions to the conflict and bring stability to the state and the Country at all cause” it added.
(ST).