In a statement issued by spokesperson Col. Lam Paul Gabriel, the SPLA-IO condemned the “illegal arrest” of its Chief of General Staff, Lt. Gen. Gabriel Duop Lam, and the subsequent detention of its Commander-in-Chief, H.E. Riek Machar Teny Dhurgon, who also serves as the First Vice President of South Sudan.
The SPLA-IO alleges that the SSPDF has launched unrestrained attacks on its territories, targeting both military positions and civilian populations.
The statement claims that these actions demonstrate a clear preference for war over peace by the ruling Sudan People’s Liberation Movement in Government (SPLM-IG) and the SSPDF.
Despite diplomatic efforts by the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD), the African Union (AU), the United Nations (UN), and the broader international community to broker a peaceful resolution, the SPLA-IO asserts that these initiatives have been undermined by the government’s aggressive stance. “It’s clear that the SPLM-IG and SSPDF chose war over peace,” the statement read.
In response, the SPLA-IO’s Acting Chief of General Staff, Lt. Gen. Peter Thok Chuol, has ordered all SPLA-IO sectors, divisions, and units to remain vigilant and to defend both their positions and civilians in their controlled areas. The statement emphasised a unified stance, declaring, “An attack on any SPLA-IO position is an attack on all SPLA-IO.”
The escalating tensions threaten to derail South Sudan’s fragile peace process, which has been strained since the 2018 Revitalised Peace Agreement.
