CTSAMVM acknowledges SSPDF recruitment in NBGS after Sudans Post investigation

JUBA – The Ceasefire and Transitional Security Arrangements Monitoring and Verification Mechanism (CTSAMVM) confirmed on Thursday that the South Sudan People’s Defense Forces (SSPDF) is conducting a recruitment drive in Northern Bahr el Ghazal State.

This comes after Sudans Post published investigative reports confirming such activity.

The first Sudans Post investigation, published in November 2023, revealed the SSPDF’s training of thousands of new troops (3,018) across two locations in the state, in violation of the revitalized peace agreement.

The training sites were identified as the Mathiang military garrison near Northern Bahr el Ghazal University and the SSPDF’s 3^rd Infantry Division at Wunyiik, where civilians accused of links to rebel leader Paul Malong Awan were being also detained without charges.

A second Sudans Post investigation in February 2024 documented further recruitment activity at the Mathiang facility, with an estimated 573 new recruits undergoing training.

While the government initially claimed this was a refresher course, neither they nor the peace monitors publicly acknowledged the recruitment.

During a CTSAMVM Technical Committee meeting in Juba, Chairperson Maj. Gen. Hailu Gonfa Eddosa addressed reports of “the recruitment of soldiers by SSPDF in Mathiang Barracks in Aweil town, North Bahr el Ghazal State.”

The 2018 revitalized peace agreement, signed by President Salva Kiir Mayardit and opposition factions including the main SPLM-IO led by First Vice President Riek Machar Teny, prohibits the signatories from conscripting or enlisting new military personnel.

This provision is a cornerstone of the agreement’s strategy for lasting peace and stability.

The SSPDF’s recruitment drive has drawn criticism from Machar’s SPLM-IO and the South Sudan Opposition Alliance (SSOA). Gen. Jany Kaway, a senior SSOA member, urged the SSPDF to halt the activity, calling it a violation of the peace agreement.

“It is completely a violation because the peace agreement stipulated that… there is no need for recruitment in Mathiang in Aweil without the knowledge from other parties,” Kaway said. “I would like the leadership… to stop such violations.”

SPLA-IO representative to the CTSAMVM, Chuol, echoed these concerns, describing the recruitment as “unacceptable” and urging the SSPDF to prioritize deploying the unified forces trained last year and begin training for additional peace forces.

“This… sends a different message that the NUF (unified forces) … have been waiting,” Chuol said. “It is much more important to implement deployment… and start training other members.”