JUBA—Former First Vice President Riek Machar has disputed former Vice President Benjamin Bol Mel’s account of the March 2025 Nasir crisis, denying claims that he ordered the attack on the government garrison and rejected proposals to ease tensions.
Testifying during the 125th session of his trial on Wednesday, Machar challenged several claims attributed to Bol Mel in a speech delivered during the burial of Maj. Gen. David Majur Dak, the commander killed during the Nasir incident.
According to Machar, Bol Mel had claimed that, after discovering that boats transporting government troops could not reach Nasir, he ordered White Army leader Tor Gille Tuoan to attack the military garrison in the town.
Machar told the court that he was unaware of the nature of the alleged order, explaining that the barges were transporting South Sudan People’s Defence Forces (SSPDF) soldiers to relieve or replace troops stationed at the Wec-yar-Adiw garrison in Nasir County.
When the barges and gunboats could not proceed beyond Malual, Machar told the court, he then held a telephone conference with the commissioners of Ulang and Nasir, then Upper Nile State Governor James Odok, and then former Chief of Defence Forces Gen. Paul Nang Majok to discuss the situation.
The SPLA-IO leader said he proposed hiring six large boats to transport the troops and their supplies to Wec-yar-Adiw, to which former Gen. Paul Nang Majok agreed to pay the US$60,000 requested by the boat owners
However, he said the mission was later called off, and the boats and troops were ordered back to Malakal without his knowledge.
Machar also denied that Bol Mel had asked him to deploy SPLA-IO forces as a buffer between government troops and the White Army.
He said the SPLA-IO had established such a buffer zone during clashes between government forces and local youth in Nasir in February 2024, but the opposition forces later withdrew to their bases after relations between the SSPDF and local youth improved.
Machar challenges claims over UN engagement
Machar further rejected allegations that he had misled the United Nations over the Nasir crisis, saying his dealings with the organisation have been transparent.
The former first vice president said he had asked the UN to evacuate Gen. David Majur Dak and 26 soldiers from Nasir after local youth captured the Wec-yar-Adiw garrison, disputing claims that he attended a joint meeting with Bol Mel, the chief of defence forces and UN officials to discuss evacuating government forces from Nasir.
Machar said he challenged an alleged proposal to relocate SPLA-IO forces from Greater Upper Nile to Malakal, Greater Equatoria to Oweng-ki-Bul, and Greater Bahr el Ghazal to Mapel, arguing that the move would contradict provisions of the 2018 peace agreement.
Proposals affecting troop deployments, he said, should be discussed through the security mechanisms established under the agreement.
Machar and seven co-accused face charges arising from the Nasir clashes, including treason, murder, conspiracy, terrorism, destruction of public property, and crimes against humanity. They deny the charges.
Prosecutors allege that forces aligned with the SPLM/A-IO and the White Army attacked a government garrison in Nasir, killing 257 soldiers, including Gen. David Majur Dak, and destroying or seizing military equipment worth about US$58 million.
The court adjourned the session until November 2, 2026, when Machar is expected to continue his defence statement.
