Two SPLA-IO officers captured by SSPDF after Unity State clashes

JUBA – At least two officers of the main armed opposition Sudan People’s Liberation Army in Opposition (SPLA-IO) were captured by the South Sudan People’s Defense Forces (SSPDF) on Monday following clashes in northern Unity State.

SPLA-IO Sector Two Spokesman Major Kerbino Yai Pazale confirmed to Sudans Post those two officers, identified as signal officer 2^nd Lt. Bol Panjiel and military intelligence officer 2^nd Lt. Tiriw Manyok Hoth, were captured after an SSPDF attack on their base in Nyuelnyuel.

“Following yesterday’s SSPDF attack on our base and our subsequent withdrawal to a nearby area, two of our soldiers were taken captive by the SSPDF,” Pazale stated during an interview this afternoon. “They are 2^nd Lt. Bol Panjiel, a signal officer, and 2^nd Lt. Tiriw Manyok, an MI officer.”

Pazale urged the army leadership to release the captured officers through the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC).

He further alleged that forces led by General Tito Biel Wich, who accompanied the SSPDF, looted cattle and grain belonging to civilians in Nyuelnyuel.

“We call on the SSPDF to release our captured officers as international law dictates,” Pazale declared. “Soldiers captured in war should be released because they pose no threat to the SSPDF. They should be handed over to the ICRC.”

“We also demand the return of the cows and grain stolen from civilians by General Biel Wich’s forces,” he continued, adding that one person was killed and two others were wounded following the fighting.

SPLA-IO Division 4A commander Maj. Gen. John Turuk Khor confirmed the SSPDF attack on their Nyuelnyuel base in an interview on Monday afternoon.

He described the attacking force as a “huge” contingent coming from Mayom, Bentiu, and Parieng.

However, Unity State Information Minister David Gai Jiejor presented a different account in his interview with Sudans Post following the clashes.

He claimed that two senior SSPDF and police officers were injured, including the Unity State wildlife director and the division 4 military intelligence chief.

Several other sources informed Sudans Post that the number of wounded SSPDF officers was six, but this claim could not be independently verified.