BENTIU – At least 13 soldiers have reportedly died following renewed clashes between the South Sudan People’s Defence Forces (SSPDF) and the Sudan People’s Liberation Army in Opposition (SPLA-IO) in Mayom County in South Sudan’s Unity State.
In a statement issued on Sunday, October 19, 2025, SPLA-IO Spokesperson Col. Lam Paul Gabriel said the fighting occurred early in the morning at around 5:00 a.m. in Chotchar village, Rubkona County. He accused SSPDF troops of initiating the attack on the SPLA-IO’s VIP Protection Unit.
“The SPLM-IG forces continued with their act of terrorism by attacking the SPLA-IO VIP Protection Force in Chotchar village this morning,” the statement read in part.
“However, the SPLA-IO responded swiftly, defending themselves and their families who came from Abyei, killing 12 enemy soldiers including their commander Maj. Gatluak Duop Nyir. The SPLA-IO lost one freedom fighter, while two others sustained gunshot injuries,” claimed the spokesperson.
Lam dismissed reports circulating on social media alleging that the slain commander, Maj. Gatluak Duop, was one of their officers. According to Col. Lam, Maj. Gatluak served under the SSPDF and was found wearing a police uniform after the incident.
“It is unfortunate that the SPLM-IG denied him after he died defending their tribal and political agenda,” the SPLA-IO statement alleged. Efforts to obtain comments from the SSPDF Spokesperson, Maj. Gen. Lul Ruai Koang were unsuccessful.
Last week, a similar confrontation was reported in Kaikang village of Mayom County between the same rival forces, highlighting rising tensions within the security sector.
Kerbino Yai Pazale, the SPLA-IO Sector Two Spokesperson in Unity State, said the earlier fighting erupted when SPLA-IO soldiers travelling from the Abyei Administrative Area came under attack by SSPDF troops while resting under trees in Kaikang.
The clashes in Mayom come amid persistent mistrust between forces aligned with President Salva Kiir’s SPLM-in-Government and those loyal to First Vice President Dr. Riek Machar.
The two groups are signatories to the 2018 Revitalized Peace Agreement, which calls for the unification of all armed forces into a single national army.
While independent verification of the latest casualties remains difficult, the recurrent confrontations underscore the fragile state of the country’s peace process and the challenges facing ongoing security sector reforms.
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