Ex-South Sudan lawmaker, others fighting alongside RSF in Sudan

KHARTOUM, AUGUST 30, 2023 (SUDANS POST) – A former member of South Sudan’s parliament is leading a small group of South Sudanese fighters to battle the Sudanese Armed Forces alongside the country’s Rapid Support Forces (RSF), sources have said.

Gibril Tap Gatjiek is said to have been given the rank of Major General by RSF leader Mohamed Hamdan Daglo. Gatjiek is a former member of the South Sudan People’s Liberation Army in Opposition (SPLA-IO) who defected with General Taban Deng in 2016 to President Salva Kiir’s ruling faction.

In 2016, he was appointed to the Transitional National Legislative Assembly. He served in the position until the formation of the revitalized transitional parliament in 2020.

Speaking to Sudans Post, a well-placed source said Gatjiek’s forces have been involved in recent clashes between the RSF and the Sudanese army. The fighting, which has been ongoing since at least mid-April, has displaced thousands of people and killed hundreds.

“Gibril Tap Gatjiek is a commander with the Rapid Support Forces. His soldiers took part in the assault on the Armoured Corps. His forces there were led by his field commander called Brig. Gen. Stephen Maynwiir Puok Telew a lot of them were killed,” the source said.

He added that another commander belonging to Gatjiek “is also leading a group of South Sudanese fighters at the Putihab bridge.”

Attempts by Sudans Post to reach out to Gatjiek were unsuccessful.

The fighting between the RSF and the Sudanese army is the latest chapter in Sudan’s long history of conflict. The country has been plagued by violence since its independence in 1956.

The current conflict is seen as a power struggle between Daglo and the Sudanese army. Daglo is trying to consolidate his power and extend the influence of the RSF. The Sudanese army, on the other hand, is trying to maintain its control over the country.

Thousand of people have been killed in the capital Khartoum and Darfur region. The UN has said that millions of people have been uprooted from their homes since conflict begun in the capital Khartoum on April 15, 2023.