According to SPLA-IO spokesperson Col. Lam Paul Gabriel, an SSPDF attack helicopter dropped bombs around 3:00 a.m. allegedly targeting opposition bases in the area. However, he said the strikes missed their intended targets and landed in civilian-populated areas.
“All the bombs dropped in areas populated by civilians and luckily enough no single life was lost or property destroyed,” Col. Lam said in a statement. “No SPLA-IO soldier got killed as some SPLM-IG war mongers stated on social media.”
He linked the air raid to recent clashes between the two rival forces, saying it came in retaliation for an SPLA-IO ambush that killed 12 SSPDF soldiers and wounded seven others in Kwanya a few days earlier. The opposition described that attack as a response to what it termed a failed assassination attempt on Gen. Bol Akot and other SPLA-IO officials on September 28, 2025.
The SPLA-IO also dismissed reports aired on the state-run South Sudan Broadcasting Corporation (SSBC) claiming that its members had defected to the government side in Ayod County, Jonglei State.
“What happened in Ayod was a desperate attempt by the SPLM-IG to mobilize Gawar youth by promising them ammunition to go and attack the people of Lou,” Col. Lam alleged. “These youth were then forced to appear before SSBC cameras as defectors, but they have since returned home.”
He reiterated that the SPLA-IO does not recruit or control civilians and urged the government to “stop grouping innocent youth into political parties without their consent.”
In a brief response, SSPDF spokesperson Maj. Gen. Lul Ruai Koang said the army had “no comments” to make regarding what he described as a “strategic and surgical air interdiction” in Jur River County.
“The Office of SSPDF Spokesman has no comments to make on reported strategic and surgical air interdiction at Maleng locality in Jur River County, Western Bahr El Ghazal State,” Maj. Gen. Lul said. “Own rank & file and the public will be updated in due course as per command intent.”
The reported incident marks one of the latest escalations between the two forces amid growing concerns over violations of the 2018 Revitalized Peace Agreement, which calls for the unification of the country’s armed forces under a single command.
