250 SPLA-IO officers complete refresher training in Unity State

BENTIU – The Sudan People’s Liberation Army in Opposition (SPLA-IO), South Sudan’s main armed opposition group, has announced that 250 military officers have graduated from a refresher training program in Unity State.

Speaking to Sudans Post on Tuesday, Major General John Turuk Khor, commander of SPLA-IO Division 4A, said the training began in June and concluded at the end of August and dismissed concerns about the group recruiting new members.

“We have graduated 250 of our officers who have been put on refresher training. This training is mainly conducted to ensure that those who haven’t been to training for a long time among our forces can do so,” he said.

“I want to address any fears about new recruitment. This is just refresher training, and you know what that means. A soldier or an officer needs to do this kind of refreshment after a certain period of time during their service,” he added.

The senior opposition commander further also informed Sudans Post that Unity State has been calm for several months. He said his group and the new governor, Riek Bim Top, are working together to ensure lasting peace in the region.

“The situation in Unity State is very calm and peaceful. We need to ask our people to implement the 2018 peace agreement in letter and spirit,” he said.

Unity State, the home region of the SPLA-IO leader and First Vice President Riek Machar, is one of the most volatile areas in the world’s youngest nation.

It has been plagued by cross-border communal violence and political-related fighting between the parties to the revitalized peace agreement, mainly the South Sudan People’s Defense Forces (SSPDF) and the SPLA-IO.

Recent incidents include a January attack on an SPLA-IO military base in the north of the state by forces led by Governor Joseph Nguen Manytuil who was sacked in May to be replaced by Biem.

In another incident in June, fighting between armed youth from Rubkona County of Unity State and Aliny County of the Ruweng Administrative Area (RAA) resulted in the killing of a senior local government official.