SSPDF spokesperson Maj. Gen. Lul Ruai Koang speaks to journalists at a press conference held in Juba on Monday, 10th March 2025 (Sudans Post)
JUBA – The Sudan People’s Liberation Army in Opposition (SPLA-IO) military officers who went into hiding after recent combat in Nasir, Upper Nile State, have been urged by the South Sudan People’s Defense Forces (SSPDF) to report to military headquarters to resume their duties.
SSPDF spokesperson Maj. Gen. Lul Ruai said few personnel left their work stations after the Nasir confrontation that resulted in the arrest of Gen. Gabriel Duop Lam, the acting chief of staff of the SPLA-IO and deputy chief of staff of the South Sudan.
“After Nasir was overrun and the Assistant CDF, Lt. Gen. Gabriel Duop, along with some components of SPLA-IO, was integrated into the system during the unification of the second level of command. They started fearing, especially those who have been fueling and funding the conflict in Nasser,” Lul said.
Lul said those who had contributed to Nasir’s instability left Juba for SPLA-IO containment zones.
“As we speak now, we have the Deputy Director General for National Security, ISB, Lt-Gen Yei Dau, who was in charge of operations, fled up to the Luo Nuer area with his bodyguards,” he revealed.
“We discovered that some former opposition officers absorbed into the SSPDF and other organized forces as part of the first-level command went into hiding out of fear. The military command appeals to them to come back to work.”
He said all integrated forces are part and parcel of the current security setup; they should not have fled the army headquarters.
“Technically speaking, in terms of organization, they are part of SSPDF and the organized forces. But psychologically and mentally, they are still SPLA-IO, and that’s why they took off.”
He called on the soldiers who left for Jonglei and other regions of the nation to come back to Juba and get back to work.
“So, we are appealing to them, to those who went as far as the Luo Nuer area, to come back. Those who are around, come back, come and resume your normal work. Starting from the day this appeal is made and its spread.”
