South Sudan army seizes full control of Bentiu IDP camp following heavy fighting

BENTIU — The South Sudan People’s Defense Forces (SSPDF) have seized full control of the Bentiu Internally Displaced Persons (IDP) camp after a concentrated one-hour engagement against units from the main armed opposition Sudan People’s Liberation Army in Opposition (SPLA-IO).

The clashes, which broke out on Sunday evening, resulted in the total withdrawal of opposition elements from the site, which serves as one of the largest civilian concentrations in Unity State.

The camp is situated approximately 3.5 kilometers north of Rubkona (here 9°20’3.59″N 29°47’43.82″E) on the strategic road leading to the Unity oilfields, positioned directly east of the UNMISS base. Formerly a Protection of Civilians (PoC) site under the direct management of the United Nations Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS), the facility was transitioned on March 17, 2021 to a government-backed joint force.

This unit, comprising both SSPDF and SPLA-IO personnel, was established under the security arrangements provided for in the 2018 revitalized peace agreement. However, the joint command structure has been frequently undermined by political volatility in Juba and active hostilities in the surrounding rural sectors.

A clear manifestation of this fragility occurred last October, when tensions spiked as the SSPDF’s local division attempted to detain the head of the SPLA-IO component of the Joint Force within the camp, an incident that foreshadowed the eventual collapse of the shared security mandate.

The Sunday night engagement was preceded by a significant build-up of government hardware. At approximately 5:00 PM local time, the SSPDF deployed heavy weaponry, including at least one main battle tank, to the camp’s perimeter in anticipation of a confrontation with the SPLA-IO component of the Joint Police.

This move followed division-level artillery shelling and fighting earlier on Saturday and Sunday in Pakur, west of Rubkona, and at Kubri Jamus on the Ngol River near the Sudanese border. Kinetic activity within the camp began at 7:00 PM, centered initially in Sector 5.

Multiple security sources on both sides told Sudans Post that the SPLA-IO units were quickly overwhelmed by superior government firepower. Opposition fighters conducted a fighting withdrawal to Sector 3 before entirely vacating the camp premises by 8:00 PM.

“As I speak to you, the SPLA-IO have withdrawn from the camp and there are no known casualties, though it is very dark here,” one resident reported. “The fighting has stopped. The SPLA-IO have retreated, but the general population remains within the camp.”

The localized combat triggered immediate internal displacement within the camp’s sectors as families scrambled to avoid the crossfire. Residents in the neighboring blocks reported receiving a sudden influx of people fleeing the heavy exchange of fire in Sector 5, describing scenes of panic as civilians sought safety in the more stable areas of the site.

One source stated that they had received dozens of families into their shelters who reported that the UNMISS peacekeepers had not deployed quick reaction forces to intervene during the height of the engagement.

Following the dislodgement of SPLA-IO forces and the cessation of active gunfire, many of these displaced residents began returning to their shelters, though the presence of SSPDF troops throughout the camp has left the population in a state of extreme anxiety.

The United Nations presence in the state originated in 2005 as the United Nations Mission in Sudan (UNMIS), later rebranding as UNMISS following South Sudan’s independence in 2011.

In the wake of the December 2013 civil war, the mission’s bases became critical sanctuaries for hundreds of thousands of civilians fleeing ethnic and political violence that spread from Juba to states, particularly those in the Greater Upper Nile region.

While UNMISS troops were instrumental in the primary protection of civilians for years, the 2020 transition saw the mission hand over administrative and security control of the camps to government-backed police forces.

These joint police units, especially those in Bentiu, remain susceptible to fragmentation along political lines, a vulnerability that was fully realized during Sunday’s collapse of the joint security architecture in Bentiu.