![South Sudan's map featuring Greater Pibor Administrative Area (in red) [Photo via Wikipedia]](https://i0.wp.com/www.sudanspost.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/Pibor.png?resize=850%2C650&quality=80&ssl=1)
On Sunday, residents in Pibor and Pertet Counties of GPAA said that local youth have been mobilized by the General Joshua Konyi, former GPAA chief administrator, and SSPDF commander in Pochalla who was displaced following fighting in Pochalla and were on the way to attack Pochalla.
But speaking to Sudans Post on Monday, GPAA minister of information and government spokesman Abraham Kelang Jiji denied any mobilization of youth in the area and said the government is not involved in the fighting which he said is between the SSPDF and armed youth in Pochalla.
“We don’t have any mobilization of youth from Gomuruk, Pertet and Pibor heading to Pochalla it is totally a lie. We the authorities of GPAA, we don’t have any mobilization concerning Pochalla fighting because the fighting is between SSPDF and the armed Youth in Pochalla,” he said.
The local government official further reiterated his government’s unwavering commitment to calming the fighting in Pochalla County.
“The government of GPAA is going to cool down this issue of conflict in Pochalla and then we will reconcile them (SSPDF and armed youth) because the normal citizens of Pochalla are suffering because of the armed youth in the area,” he added.
For his part Pochalla county commissioner Simon Ochalla told Sudans Post that the area is calm and he is not aware of any armed mobilization in the GPAA areas.
“There is no mobilization I have heard of. Even the authorities on the ground there you can ask them. They said there is nothing as such. Mobilization is a very big thing if there was mobilization going on in those areas, we would have known it,” Ochalla stated.
The county commissioner further said that forces of the SSPDF have withdrawn from Pochalla after they were dislodged by local armed youth and the area was calm.
