SPLM declares US sanctions on Governor Manytuil ‘unlawful’

BENTIU – The Sudan People’s Liberation Movement (SPLM) in Unity State has harshly condemned the recent US sanctions imposed on Governor Joseph Manytuil Wejang, Koch County Commissioner Gordon Koang Biel, and Mayendit County Commissioner Gatluak Nyang.

The group claim the sanctions are based on “one-sided investigations with dissimulated reports” and demand a review of the investigation process.

Speaking during a press conference in Bentiu, the state capital, on Thursday, the SPLM Chiew Whip in the state parliament, John Juor, accused the US Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) of scapegoating and failing to address the root causes of the conflict in Mirmir and Leer counties.

He argued that the accusations against the senior government officials, including alleged failure to hold militias accountable and the appointment of the two commissioners, are based on incomplete and misleading information.

The SPLM caucuses offered their own timeline of events, suggesting that the clashes initiated within an SPLA-IO cantonment area in Mirmir on February 19^th, 2022, when a faction under General Gatkhor Chuol declared allegiance to Kitgwang.

He said that these forces then attacked and displaced loyalists of Dr. Riek Machar.

Furthermore, they allege that on April 4^th and 6^th, 2022, another offensive under General Ruot Chuol led to further atrocities, cattle raiding, and civilian casualties in multiple villages across Koch County.

The SPLM official urges OFAC to “correlate these events” and conduct a more thorough investigation before passing judgment.

They insist that the report scapegoats the Unity State officials while ignoring the “primary roots cause of the conflict and the instigators.”