Yau Yau denies instigating military tension in Pibor after removal

January 2, 2016 (JUBA) – The leader of the now defunct South Sudan Democratic Movement (SSDM)-Cobra faction, David Yau Yau has denied instigating military tensions in Pibor, allegedly sparked by his removal through presidential order as result of the implementation of an establishment order dividing up the young nation into 28 states.

“There is no tension. The area is calm and peaceful”, Yauyau exclusively told Sudan Tribune Saturday when reached to comment on reports that his removal sparked dissidence and raised tension between his supporters in the area and armed group allied, yet integrated into the national army on one hand and those perceived to have welcomed his removal and replaced with a new official from the area.

“The tension reported in the media is just a feeling of individuals, which is their constitutional right. But we are managing them. We are talking to them and this is why the situation until this moment is calm. People in greater Pibor are going about their normal business. There is no problem”, added the former rebel chief.

He said his removal from the post of chief administrator of the area sparked reactions.

“Yes, people were surprised by the changes. They are talking about lack of consultations but we as leaders have told them to be peaceful”, said Yauyau denying that his supporters have been deployed in strategic positions and places in Greater Pibor area.

Akot Lual Areec, the presidential especial envoy on Pibor affairs and one of the lead negotiators during the peace which ended the previously ocalised conflict between Yauyau’s faction and government forces, said separately that he was not aware of tension between government forces and those allied to Yau Yau.

Areec said Yau Yau would be given a different assignment in government and his forces have already been absorbed into the national army in the interest of peace and stability.

Gordon Buay, one of the government representatives to its mission in the United States said the decision of the president was not for bad intentions, further stressing that the former Greater Pibor Administrative Area (GPPA) would be given another political role.

“General Yau Yau will be given another assignment soon. The government is already working on that. There should not be panic on this. It has already been taken care of and Yau Yau is in Juba. The situation in Pibor is relatively calm. People there are going about their normal business celebrating the New Year”, Buay told Sudan Tribune Friday.

The GPPA, formerly headed by Yau Yau, has now been incorporated within Boma state.

(ST)