Hundreds of opposition fighters defect to government

JUBA – More than 1,100 fighters from the main armed opposition Sudan People’s Liberation Movement in Opposition (SPLA-IO) have defected to the government’s South Sudan People’s Defence Forces (SSPDF), according to officials and defectors.

The defections, which occurred across several regions including Western and Eastern, and central Equatoria, Bahr el Ghazal, and Jonglei, represent a significant blow to the detained SPLM/SPLA (IO) leader and First Vice President Riek Machar.

Brigadier General Gabriel Bol Anuer, a former SPLA-IO commander in Bahr el Ghazal, said he and 500 fighters had joined the SSPDF under President Salva Kiir.

“I, Brigadier General Gabriel Bol Anuer…officially declare on behalf of the forces under my command our withdrawal from the SPLA-IO faction led by Dr. Riek Machar and fully align ourselves with the South Sudan People’s Defence Forces (SSPDF) under the esteemed leadership of General Salva Kiir,” Anuer said in a statement.

Anuer cited the SPLA-IO’s “politicization” of security arrangements and alleged targeted killings and torture of non-Nuer members within Machar’s faction, particularly at the Wunaliet cantonment, as reasons for the defection.

Brigadier General Compeo Andrea Matia, who led another group of 500 defectors, accused Machar of deceiving them with false promises of reform.

“The SPLA-IO movement has lost direction. Dr. Riek Machar deceived us that we were fighting a just war for reform, however, we have realized that we were wasting our time fighting a meaningless war to keep Dr. Riek Machar and his family in power,” Matia said.

Matia cited tribalism, nepotism, and a lack of direction within the SPLA-IO as further reasons for their departure.

David John Kumuri, a spokesman for South Sudan’s National Security Service (NSS), confirmed that 604 SPLA-IO fighters from Western and Eastern Equatoria had joined the SSPDF.

“The received forces were based in Western Equatoria and Eastern Equatoria state respectively, with the latter having comprised of 55, while the former comprised of 549 each, making a total of 604 forces together,” Kumuri said.

He said the reintegration of these fighters into the SSPDF was crucial for stability and that the government remained open to receiving other defectors.

“Finally, NSS guarantees that the ongoing reception of the holdout forces, including the SPLA-IO forces, is constructive and central to the peace and tranquility of the country and its people,” Kumuri added.

Sudans Post was unable to independently verify the defectors’ claims.