JUBA, Nov. 26, 2024 — The South Sudan People’s Defense Force (SSPDF) has dismissed widespread social media claims alleging that Military Intelligence Chief Gen. Stephen Marshall was suspended by Chief of Defense Forces Gen. Santino Deng Wol.

The rumors also suggested military tensions had escalated near Bilpam and Newsite following Gen. Marshall’s alleged defiance of suspension orders linked to an assassination attempt on former spymaster Gen. Akol Koor Kuc.

“These allegations are baseless and the work of warmongers,” SSPDF spokesperson Maj. Gen. Lul Ruai Koang told Radio Tamazuj. “Gen. Stephen Marshall has not been suspended, detained, or involved in any such tensions.”

The SSPDF’s response follows recent security concerns in Juba after a deadly gunfire exchange on Thursday night left several people dead. The clash was reportedly connected to the relocation of Gen. Akol Koor, the former Director-General of the National Security Service (NSS), from Tongpiny to his new residence in Jebel.

Gen. Koor, a central figure in South Sudanese intelligence since independence in 2011, was removed from his position in October by President Salva Kiir, in what analysts view as a power consolidation effort within the transitional government.

Political observers suggest the move was part of Kiir’s strategy to tighten control amid the nation’s ongoing political turbulence.