BOR – South Sudan’s main armed opposition Sudan People’s Liberation Army in Opposition (SPLA-IO) said on Tuesday that its forces had recaptured New Fangak, the administrative center of Fangak County in Jonglei State, following intense fighting with government troops.
Clashes between the SPLA-IO and the South Sudan People’s Defense Forces (SSPDF) reportedly began in the early hours of Tuesday.
Local residents told Sudans Post that heavy fighting erupted around 5:00 a.m. and continued into the afternoon, with SPLA-IO forces reportedly gaining control of the area also known as “Phom” by 11:00 a.m.
“SPLA-IO recaptures Phom from the SSPDF,” the group’s military spokesman, Col. Lam Paul Gabriel, said in a brief statement, referring to New Fangak by its local name. He added that further details would be released later.
There was no immediate comment from SSPDF spokesman Maj. Gen. Lul Ruai Koang.
According to multiple local sources who spoke to Sudans Post, the SPLA-IO launched a coordinated assault from the south and east of the town. Some government troops reportedly withdrew across the Nile River after the town fell.
“The fighting started early in the morning, and the SPLA-IO forces came from the direction of Malakal and Old Fangak,” one resident said. “By 11:00 a.m., they had taken control of the town. The SSPDF troops were allowed to retreat to the east and some crossed to the northern bank of the River [Nile].”
Another resident confirmed that members of the local Gawaar White Army — a group of armed Nuer youth — had joined the SPLA-IO in the assault.
“The White Army came from the south and fought fiercely alongside the SPLA-IO,” the resident said. “The SSPDF and allied Abu Shok militia later fled toward Malakal and the other side of the Nile.”
The latest fighting is part of a broader escalation of tensions between the SPLA-IO and government forces that began in February, after the SSPDF attempted a controversial disarmament operation in Nasir County of the northeastern Upper Nile State.
That effort triggered resistance from the White Army, many of whom fought alongside the SPLA-IO during the 2013–2018 civil war. In March, the group overran an SSPDF brigade headquarters in Wec Ayar, Nasir, killing the brigade commander.
The attack led to the arrest of several senior SPLM-IO officials in Juba, including oil minister Puot Kang Chuol and SPLA-IO Chief of Staff Gen. Gabriel Duop Lam. First Vice President Riek Machar, who leads the SPLA-IO, was also placed under house arrest.
Machar and his allies have denied involvement in the White Army’s actions, stating that the youth were acting independently and without orders from the SPLA-IO leadership, which the government has described as “false.”
