South Sudanese army warns armed opposition forces of imminent attacks
May 21, 2016 (JUBA) – The spokesperson of the South Sudanese army (SPLA) under the command of President Salva Kiir has warned the armed opposition faction of SPLA-IO of imminent attack on their forces “within reach”, casting serious fears of military confrontations between the two rival forces.
In the statement he cited as “briefing” which he also announced on the state-owned South Sudan Television on Saturday evening, Koang said their forces came under attack near Bentiu, capital of Northern Liech state this week. He dismissed previous claims by the opposition forces that they were instead attacked.
“It’s absolutely important to bring to your attention that SPLA forces did not attack SPLA IO positions at Matjiang and other locations. The truth of the matter is that SPLA IO fighters have been encroaching on our territory almost on daily basis and on 14th May 2016, they came as close as 4km south of our defensive positions in Bentiu town,” he claimed.
“On that fateful day, the late Capt. Paul Mawic Riek left with 15 soldiers under his command for routine reconnaissance. En route to the area, they fell in an SPLA IO led ambush resulting in him losing his dear life while another serviceman was wounded, and 2 PKM light machine guns were stolen by the attackers. Our small recce team was overwhelmed and as result, retreated to Bentiu town,” Koang further alleged.
The army’s spokesperson warned that the SPLA-IO’s “continued offensive posture during peace time” while their Commander-in-Chief, Riek Machar, is in President Kiir’s territory in Juba as the First Vice President, may force the army to attack those within their reach.
“It’s completely absurd for SPLA IO to kill our servicemen in the name of gaining more territory when their purported C-IN-C is in our territory and serving as 1st Vice President. SPLA IO leader should be honest and admit that he is no longer in control of fighters attacking our forces or else we would be forced to play some nasty music to those within our reach,” he warned.
The army’s spokesperson also lashed at the verification team of the Ceasefire Transitional Security Arrangements Monitoring Mechanism (CTSAMM), saying it was none of their business to know how many troops have been withdrawn from Juba to 25km per the security arrangements or the type of big weapons the army still maintains in the capital.
“It’s none of CTSAMM’s business to know the number of SPLA soldiers redeployed 25km outside of Juba but parades of those that are supposed to remain in the capital as per Transitional Security Arrangements,” he said.
“On the same note, it’s not CTSAMM’s mandate to know the types and exact number of heavy weapons SPLA has but should instead concentrate on knowing for those serving in Joint Integrated Units.”
CTSAMM is the body established by the peace agreement to verify the implementation of the security arrangements in Juba and report their findings to the Joint Monitoring and Evaluation Commission (JMEC), which is chaired by the former Botswana president, Festus Mogae.
President Kiir’s faction was supposed to deploy in Juba about 5,000 of combined military and police forces and withdraw the rest of the forces to 25km outside Juba. However, several thousands more forces have remained in Juba and less than 25kms from the capital.
JMEC had earlier said they could not verify whether the army had withdrawn its forces outside of Juba per the security arrangements agreement or how many of its forces have remained in Juba.
General Koang, a former military spokesperson of the SPLA-IO before his defection, also lashed at the Community Empower for Progress Organization (CEPO) for criticising the army in failing to implement its part on the security arrangements, warning that such criticims if continued may result to punishment.
“Our local None Government Organizations-NGOs should not start parroting before gathering facts and contacting concerned institutions to familiar themselves with concrete steps taken. An Army is not run the way projects are implemented by some unscrupulous organizations. If you belong to or running an NGOs that solicit funds in the name of a given community with a view of implementing a specific project, please concentrate on area of your responsibility otherwise having a big mouth and feeling good about being an orator could unknowingly land you in hot water,” he warned.
He also admitted that the army had arrested 19 youth members from Mundri county in Amadi state, arguing that they were criminals who caused insecurity in the area.
Earlier, SPLM-IO representatives in Western Equatoria said their members were arrested last week in Mundri county simply because they belonged to the opposition faction in the area.
(ST)