President Salva Kiir directed the organised forces to protect the citizens yesterday as the country commemorated SPLA Day.
Kiir made this call in his speech issued to mark the May 16 celebrations—a day the country remembers the selfless act by the freedom fighters to rescue the country from the segregative Khartoum regime.
“To all organised forces, I congratulate you for your dedication to your duty and call upon you to protect civilians and their properties whenever they are threatened,” Kiir said in a statement released by the presidential press unit.
He urged the forces to learn from the history of liberation to confront the challenges the country faces.
“I send you my best wishes for the SPLA Day and encourage you to use our past struggle as a guide when dealing with current challenges facing our country,” he stated.
Kiir described SPLA Day as a landmark event for reminiscing the struggle for independence.
“It is also a day we recall the sacrifices made by our martyrs who lost their lives in our painful journey to our statehood,” he added.
In his letter, Kiir paid tribute to the late Dr John Garang de Mabior and all the martyrs for their efforts towards the attainment of freedom.
SPLA Day
May 16, 1983, is commemorated as the day the gallant forces of 105 battalions commanded by Kerubino Kuanyin Bol, shot the first bullet in Bor, marking the start of the Second Sudanese civil war against the oppressive Khartoum regime.
The war lasted for about 21 years and ended through the signing of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement in Nairobi Kenya, in 2005.
After the six years of autonomous rule, South Sudanese went for a referendum in which they voted 99 per cent for secession from Sudan in 2010, and the country was declared independent on July 9, 2011.
However, barely two years after independence, the country again descended into civil war in December 2013 due to misunderstandings within the SPLM party. In 2018, an agreement was signed and ended five years of civil war.
Although many critical parts of the agreement have not been implemented, parties to the agreement took magical strides through the unification of command last month and now working on the possible timeline for the graduation of the unified forces to secure the nation.