BREAKING NEWS: SOUTH SUDAN PEOPLE DEFENCE FORCE (SSPDF) DISLODGES SPLA-IO FROM IMPORTANT BASE

BREAKING NEWS: SOUTH SUDAN PEOPLE DEFENCE FORCE (SSPDF) DISLODGES SPLA-IO FROM IMPORTANT BASE

JUBA – South Sudan army on Monday took control of an important Sudan People’s Liberation Army in Opposition (SPLA-IO) base near the border with Ethiopian region of Gambella, several sources told Sudans Post this morning.

This comes just a day after the main armed opposition group said South Sudan army forces launched attacks against several positions belonging to the SPLM-IO in Longechuk and Maiwut Counties in Upper Nile state.

“This is to confirm that the SPLA-IO base in Jekou has been taken by the government forces led by General Ochan Puot who traveled to Maiwut last week after having been in the capital Juba for several months,” one senior SPLA-IO officer said from Juba.

“They attacked many positions belonging to us but they did not manage to capture the other bases and we repulsed them. The reasons why they were able to capture this base is that our soldiers didn’t expect war there,” the officer added.

In a statement on Monday evening, SPLA-IO spokesman Colonel Lam Paul Gabriel said their forces have been attacked several times with the attacks in Maiwut and Longechuk ongoing.

“On 20/03/2022 at about 8:30am, the SSPDF launched aggressive simultaneous attacks against the SPLA-IO positions of Jekow, Lolnyang, Wang Kuarbiy and Kuerkeem in clear violation of CoHA signed on 21st December 2017,” he said in the statement.

The senior SPLA-IO officer further said that “These continuous intentional aggressions against the SPLA-IO do not only show lack of political will but also intent to take the country back to a full scale war.”