Malong ‘just talking’ but has no presence, army – SSPDF

JUBA – South Sudan’s former army chief Gen. Paul Malong Awan has no army and presence in Northern Bahr el Ghazal, Western Bahr el Ghazal and Lakes state has he claim, but only want to give himself weight that he does not have, army spokesman Maj. Gen. Lul Ruai Koang said.

This comes after the South Sudan United Front/Army (SSUF/A) led by Malong declared war against the government, alleging that the South Sudan People’s Defense Forces (SSPDF) attacked his basis and took senior rebel officers captives.

“We would also like to make it crystal clear that from today onwards we will conduct military operations in all locations in the country and our beloved civilians are urged to avoid all combat areas,” SSUFA military spokesman Col. Philip Deng Kuol said in a statement over the weekend.

“All our forces are directed to vividly wield their military arsenal and stay on maximum alert because this belligerent language is what the government in Juba understands,” he continued, adding that the abducted opposition officers include SSUFA’s military operation commander in Northern Bahr el Ghazal Gen. Akol Ngong Ayok.

But the SSPDF Gen. Lul says that denied the claims and said General Malong’s group has no presence in the areas that they claim they have presence in.

“Gen. Paul Malong has no presence in the places he claims. First of all, the officer who was arrested, Colonel Akol Ngong, is the officer in charge of finance in Division 11. He stole money meant for soldiers there and was arrested because of that,” he is quoted by Radio Tamazuj as saying.

“Secondly, there are people who were arrested around Aweil in Northern Bahr el Ghazal and these are criminals who have been ambushing and robbing civilians along the roads,” he added.

General Lul said that “The people who were arrested in Wau have no links to Gen. Malong and he does not have a presence in the places he is alluding to and just wants to portray stature and weight he does not have.”

The outspoken army media official further said that Gen. Akol Ngong is an SSPDF officer, not a rebel.

“Even if you go to Aweil and investigate and ask about this Akol Ngong, you will find out that that he is not Malong’s officer but belongs to SSPDF and he is a Colonel and not a General,” he said.

“I saw that Malong claimed that Ngong is an SSUF/A operations commander. How can a rebel operations commander work for SSPDF and is in charge of paying soldiers? He just stole money and was arrested for that,” he added.

“If he (Malong) is claiming that the criminals who have been robbing people in Aweil are his men and soldiers, it means he is saying that he is a commander of criminals.

“The criminals who have been robbing travelers on the roads are the ones who were apprehended. They would stop vehicles and rob money and telephones and even rustle cattle.”

“He (Malong) is just talking. If you want to fight, you must first have an army. In the past, he had some troops around Wau and Northern Bahr el Ghazal but all those forces of his were annihilated and over a hundred of the prisoners of war were brought to Juba. They were only released recently.”