At the height of tension and armed exchange in Nasir County, Upper Nile State, civil society member has urged the national government to intervene and end the clashes

By Chuol Chanyong

Speaking exclusively to The City Review on Sunday, the commissioner said: “It was around 9 am after the shooting. From that time, calm has been restored. There is no shooting, although the security situation is still tense, as there is no much movement within the area,” he said, adding:

“We were able to contain the situation. I spoke to the area army commander to stop the exchange with the civilians, and also spoke to the armed youths to stop attacking the army barracks.”

Gatluak confirmed he spoke to the head of the SSPDF on mitigating the tension in the area.

Even though he could not confirm the number of victims from the military side, the commissioner only revealed the number of those that were injured.

“Ten people were injured, seven of them men and two women. The other from the peacekeeping forces (UNMISS),” he said.

In a statement released late last week, SSPDF spokesperson Lul Ruai Koang accused the Sudan People’s Liberation Army in opposition (SPLA-IO) of continuous incitement of the white Army.

“The SSPDF command/ leadership would like to inform our rank and file and the public at large that four of its dedicated servicemen paid the ultimate price in defence of Nasir town, Nasir County, Upper Nile State,” the statement read in part.

“On Valentine’s Day, at 3 pm, three soldiers left defensive trenches to collect firewood. Only 600 meters away, they were attacked, and an officer was killed. A second attack was launched after two hours and the third attack on February 15. The three unjustified attacks, respectively, killed four soldiers and wounded three others.” 

The SSPDF called on the ceasefire monitor, CTSAMVM, to investigate the latest violations to the peace agreement in Upper Nile, Western Equatoria and Western Bahr al -Ghazal,

While reached by this publication over the weekend for response over the latest updates regarding the clashed in Nasir, the army spokesperson stated that he was yet to communicate with the area commander, as his phone was off.

Meanwhile, Edmund Yakani, a civil society activist and Executive Director of the Community Empowerment for Progress Organization (CEPO) condemned the attacks, terming it a ‘situation of armed war.’

“I would like to take this opportunity to strongly condemn the regular violence in Nasir County, Upper Nile State, between the SSPDF and the White Army,” Yakani said.

“It seems that Nasir is facing a situation of armed war, and the leadership of the country is silent and very reflectance in responding to alleviating the situation permanently,” he added.

“I would like to take this opportunity to strongly condemn the regular violence in Nasir County, Upper Nile State, between the SSPDF and the White Army,” said Edmund Yakani, civili society activist.