Gov’t denies targeted attack on communities supporting SPLM/A-IO

JUBA – The government of South Sudan denied on Friday that it had ordered the South Sudan People’s Defense Forces to launch targeted attacks against communities that support the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement/Army-in-Opposition, the country’s main opposition group led by Dr. Riek Machar.

This follows a social media report alleging that security forces have been conducting targeted attacks on communities perceived to support SPLM/A-IO in Western Bahr el Ghazal, Western Equatoria, and Upper Nile, where tensions have reportedly been rising.

Addressing journalists at a press conference in Juba on Friday, Michael Makuei Lueth, Minister of Information and Communication, said that there isn’t a nationwide campaign that targets any one group or person in the nation.

“As a result, the White Army mobilized by the SPLM/A-IO besieged Nasir and moved from Ulang towards Malakal. This is not a friendly force as alleged, but a hostile one, and the SSPDF had to respond accordingly. Violations consistently occur in areas held by the SPLM/A-IO, while the SPLM-IG acts as the fire extinguisher,” Makuei said.

Makuei underlined that security forces step in whenever there are breaches of the peace, especially when there are clashes between communities.

 

Lueth said the SPLM/A-IO was waging a negative campaign to incite the local populace against the freshly deployed South Sudan People’s Defense Forces (SSPDF), leading to the tension in Nasir.

On Thursday, First Vice President Riek Machar, Chairman of the SPLM/A-IO, wrote to President Salva Kiir Mayardit, requesting a meeting to discuss the insecurity taking place across the country.

The letter detailed attacks on officials of his party, particularly in Western Bahr el Ghazal and Western Equatoria, between January and February of this year.

Machar also expressed concerns about the recent deployment of the SSPDF and allied forces in the volatile Nasir area of Upper Nile State, which he claimed has heightened tensions between local youth and the SSPDF.

“On February 20, 2025, I wrote to Your Excellency to discuss the replacement of the SSPDF in Nasir town, which has recently become a flashpoint. The ongoing violations in these states are serious enough that I feel compelled to raise these issues with the peace guarantors so they may intervene and propose amicable solutions to break the deadlock,” he said.