South Sudan denies armed opposition troops recaptured Pagak
August 15, 2017 (JUBA) – South Sudan government has denied reports suggesting members of armed opposition forces loyal to former Vice-President Riek Machar have retaken their former headquarters in Pagak, describing such reports as bad propaganda.
“I am speaking to you now in Pagak. The rebels have been making attempts but our forces have been defeating them. Our people should not listen to them. What they are saying are lies and wishful propaganda,” said Rom.
“Pagak is under the full control of the government now”, he added.
South Sudan’s presidential spokesman Ateny Wek Ateny also denied reports on the fall of Pagak, saying it is still under the control of the government forces despite several attempts by rebels to regain it.
“Pagak is firmly under the SPLA’s control. Yes, the forces of Riek’s rebels have been trying to retake Pagak, but each time they tried, they were beaten off badly. The fall of Pagak was bad propaganda. It is under the control of the constitutional forces”, stressed Ateny.
A deputy spokesperson for the armed opposition movement, Lam Paul Gabriel earlier claimed that their forces were controlling the border area that links South Sudan to neighbouring Ethiopia, having allegedly pushed pro-government out during clashes on Sunday.
“We are in control of Pagak and all surrounding areas including our border with Ethiopia. We have dislodged the government forces out of the town since Saturday and up to now they cannot be seen inside the South Sudan territory,” he told Sudan Tribune on Monday.
South Sudan army had earlier captured the headquarters of the armed opposition fighters, reversing all the gains made by pro-Machar forces in the past months.
The South Sudanese civil war is a conflict in between forces of the government and the armed opposition forces. In December 2013, President Salva Kiir accused his former deputy Machar of attempting a coup d’état. Since then, tens of thousands of people have been killed and nearly two million displaced in the country’s worst-ever violence after it seceded from Sudan.
(ST)
