South Sudan army denies Nasir deployment is for disarmament, warns of self-defense

JUBA – South Sudan’s army (SSPDF) has denied that the deployment of thousands of troops to Nasir County in Upper Nile State, which began last week just days after fighting erupted between local armed youth and SSPDF soldiers stationed there, is intended for disarmament.

The military described the troop movement in a statement on Thursday as an administrative measure aimed at resolving issues between soldiers and the local community.

In the statement seen by Sudans Post, the SSPDF addressed what it called “propaganda, misinformation and disinformation being spread by anti-peace elements” regarding the deployment.

The statement cited several reasons for the troop movement, including “persistent misunderstanding…between our forces and the host community,” “intermittent/sporadic armed clashes,” “physical confinement of our forces to their barracks,” and the fact that the forces “had overstayed in Nasir.”

The SSPDF said the deployment was a routine administrative activity based on requests from the Nasir community and state authorities to relieve existing forces.

“In line with our administrative routine activities and based on Nasir community’s and state authorities request, the SSPDF commander decided to relieve forces online for the following reasons,” the statement explained.

Responding to calls for the deployment of the Necessary Unified Forces (NUF) instead of the SSPDF, the statement argued that NUF elements “without guns (with sticks)” could not be deployed in a “hostile area such as Nasir town.”

Despite the stated peaceful intentions, the SSPDF issued a warning.

“Failure to comply…SSPDF reserves the right to respond with deadly force in self-defense once aggressed,” the statement read, urging “those armed civilians that have been mobilized for possible armed confrontations to immediately disperse.”

The SSPDF reiterated that “there are no operational plans and orders to conduct disarmament exercise…in Nasir” and “there are no operational plans and orders to deploy additional SSPDF forces…apart from Nasir.”

The SSPDF statement comes a week after Deputy Chief of Defense Forces for Disarmament and militia leader General Johnson Olony Thabo ordered thousands of troops to deploy to Nasir for disarmament.

Olony, who visited the state capital Malakal with General James Koang Chuol, leads the Agwelek militia, which was dissolved last year before integration into the SSPDF. 

Olony’s reported statements, along with photos circulating of SSPDF ferries carrying troops on the Sobat River, sparked public outrage, prompting calls for the SSPDF to halt the planned disarmament operation.