SPLA-IO denies recruiting fighters from Uganda

September 4, 2019 (JUBA) – South Sudan’s armed opposition movement (SPLM-IO) has dismissed recent reports alleging they were luring youth in northern Uganda with cash promises to join the group.

“The Resident District Commissioner of Lamwo James Kidega has once again attacked the SPLA-IO through The Observer online media outlet on Sept. 1. He alleged that SPLA-IO is recruiting Ugandan youth into its ranks and files with promise of decent remuneration. This is a white lie aimed at tarnishing the image of the SPLA-IO,” said Gabriel in a statement issued in Juba,” clarified Lam Paul Gabriel, the deputy military spokesman of the rebel movement.

The official said the armed opposition group does not recruit or operate abroad.

Earlier media reports claimed the SPLA-IO is integrating Ugandan officers in its ranks and have recruited 30 youth from Gulu, a district near the Lamwo-South Sudan border in Eastern Equatoria region.

Lam, in a statement, said SPLA-IO is already participating in implementing the transitional security arrangements with the Juba government and all its forces are in cantonment sites awaiting registration and screening.

Last week, the International Refugee Rights Initiative (IRRI), a report, said while some members of the warring parties visited refugee settlements to reunite with their families, others tended to target their political opponents.

The research, the organisation said, was conducted between 2018 and May 2019.

Speaking during the launch of the report in Kampala last week, IRRI’s executive director, Achieng Akena, said parties involved in the South Sudanese conflict should be held accountable for their actions.

The report, among others, recommended thorough investigations into recruitment and abuses against refugees by the warring factions to ensure that individuals involved are arrested and prosecuted.

It further recommended that the Ugandan government increases police presence in refugee settlements, support training on refugee and host community relations, and strengthen community policing.

There are an estimated 800,000 South Sudanese refugees in Ugandan camps.

South Sudan descended into civil war in mid-December 2013 and the ongoing conflict has created one of the fastest-growing refugee crises in the world.

In September 2018, South Sudan’s conflicting parties signed a final peace deal in Addis Ababa after negotiations brokered by the Sudanese government and mandated by regional nations.

(ST)