September 12, 2020 (KHARTOUM) - The National Salvation Front (NAS) fighters repulsed a joint attack by South Sudan People’s Defence Forces (SSPDF) and Sudan People’s Liberation Army in Opposition SPLA-IO in Central Equatoria State and killed four troops.

The rebel group also said the South Sudanese troops attacked refugees camps in the Democratic Republic of Congo.

According to Suba Samuel Manase, NAS Spokesman, the joint force attacked their positions in Laiza and Agabe areas of Morobo County, Central Equatoria State on 9 September.

Manase said they successfully repulsed the two attacks, adding that the assailants who killed one NAS combatant and wounded two others.

"Four (4) of the enemy soldiers were killed in action and several others wounded. Three (3) AK 47 rifles and one (1) RPG launcher were captured in good working condition," he stressed.

The growing violence in the Central Equatoria between the government military components and the holdout rebels triggered the deployment of UNMISS peacekeepers at Lobonok to protect civilians and aid workers in the troubled state.

The spokesman further said that the government forces carried out cross-border attacks on the South Sudanese refugees camps in the neighbouring Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and torched their villages

"They then went deeper into DRC by more than three (3) kilometres to the villages of Ukupadiku, Alekate and Udukuny. They burned more than thirty (30) grass thatched huts after looting and displacing South Sudanese civilians (in the neighbouring country)," he said.

"The Congolese authorities intervened and arrested four (4) SPLA-IO soldiers," he added.

(ST)