Gatwech ‘not involved’ in Leer violence – official

JUBA – A senior South Sudan opposition diplomat allied to General Simon Gatwech Dual has told Sudans Post that the SPLM-IO Kitgwang faction is not involved in the ongoing violence in southern Unity State’s Leer County.

Violence has been ongoing in Leer with dozens of civilians being murdered, women rapped and houses being put on fire by suspected gunmen allied to the commissioner of Mayendit County Gatluak Nyang.

SSPDF spokesman Major General Lul Ruai Koang told Sudans Post earlier this week that the killing in Leer was sparked by fighting between SPLA-IO factions loyal to First Vice President Dr. Riek Machar Teny and General Simon Gatwech Dual.

But speaking to Sudans Post this afternoon, Amb. Gatkuoth Biel Nyang, one of the top diplomats of the SPLM-IO Kitgwang faction denied involvement of his group in the fighting, but said they have forces in southern Unity State.

“What we know is that we have forces in southern Unity state, but the fighting in Leer is between clans and somehow between other political foes and we are not involved there in anyway,” he told Sudans Post from the Sudanese capital Khartoum.

“Since the signing of the Khartoum peace agreement, we have not attacked anyone. There was infighting in Mirmir where SPLA-IO under Riek Machar attempted to retake Mirmir after it was controlled by our forces, but we defeated them and our forces are inside Mirmir now,” he added.

The SPLA-IO under First Vice President Machar has not come out to clearly state who is fighting who in Leer county as several attempts to contact the spokesman of the main armed opposition group’s military wing Lam Paul Gabriel were unsuccessful.