SPLM-IO condemns Olony’s call for Nuer self-rule as ‘inflammatory and divisive’

JUBA — South Sudan’s main armed Sudan People’s Liberation Movement in Opposition (SPLM/A-IO) has condemned remarks by a senior army commander suggesting the creation of a separate political entity for the Nuer community, warning that the comments risk inflaming ethnic tensions in an already volatile security environment.

The reaction followed comments made by Johnson Olony, the South Sudan People’s Defence Forces (SSPDF) deputy chief of defence forces for mobilisation and disarmament, who said the Nuer should be given their “own country” so they could govern themselves.

The remarks, captured in a video circulated widely on social media and obtained by Sudans Post, were made on Friday in Poktap, Duk County, Jonglei State, during a visit by Jonglei State Governor Riek Gai Kok, who also appeared sitting alongside Olony.

Olony — who also commands the Agwelek militia — is heard saying he had previously argued that the Nuer should rule themselves in a separate political entity, framing the idea as a solution to recurring ethnic violence.

The SPLM/A-IO rejected the remarks, describing them as provocative and misleading. In a statement issued on Friday, Puok Both Baluang, the acting press secretary in the office of suspended First Vice President Riek Machar, said Olony’s comments appeared aimed at portraying the opposition as an ethnically based movement.

“This statement appears to be an attempt by Olony—perhaps reflecting the regime’s policy—to portray the SPLM/A (IO) as a tribal‑based Nuer movement seeking a separate Nuer state,” he said.

He accused Olony of using ethnic rhetoric to mobilize non-Nuer communities against the opposition, warning that such language could fuel violence and deepen divisions.

According to Both, the remarks formed part of what he described as a broader campaign of ethnic stigmatization targeting the Nuer community. “We categorically reject this statement and vehemently condemn it,” he said, adding that the SPLM/A-IO remained committed to a united South Sudan.

“We also wish to state the obvious: the SPLM/A-IO is a national movement committed to a united, peaceful, democratic and prosperous South Sudan, not a sectarian organisation,” Both said.

The dispute comes amid heightened insecurity in Jonglei State, where clashes and armed mobilizations have persisted despite repeated calls for restraint by political leaders and community elders.

It also follows closely after earlier remarks by Olony, in which he ordered troops preparing for deployment in Jonglei to “spare no lives,” including the elderly, comments that drew alarm from civil society groups and international observers who warned of the risk of mass abuses against civilians.

Olony has not publicly responded to the SPLM/A-IO’s criticism. Government officials have also not issued an official statement addressing the controversy.

Analysts say the exchange underscores the fragility of South Sudan’s political settlement, where inflammatory rhetoric by senior figures can quickly sharpen ethnic fault lines and undermine efforts to stabilise conflict-affected regions such as Jonglei and Upper Nile.