An armed youth leader in Tombura County, Western Equatoria State, has denied the allegation that he refused to assemble his forces as agreed by leaders to bring stability in the area.

Angelo Davido was responding to the Ceasefire Transitional Security Arrangement Monitoring and Verification Mechanism (CTSAMVM) last week’s report that his forces have yet to assemble despite the relocation of other rival forces from Tombura County.

“The forces of Maj. Gen. James Nando have been relocated to Maridi, and the SPLA-IO forces are relocating there, but at a slow pace. [But] the Balanda forces (armed civilians) led by Angelo Davido are yet to assemble,” said CTSAMVM Chairperson, Maj. Gen. Teshome Gemechu Aderie, at the body’s technical meeting on Thursday last week.

Speaking to The City Review on Monday from the capital, Juba, on the phone, Davido said his forces were civilians with no military background who took up arms to defend themselves from aggressors.

He added that after the agreement was reached for the relocation of forces, all the armed forces who were fighting along ethnic lines in Tombura disarmed the youth and handed over their weapons to the government.

Denial                  

“I don’t have armed youth again in Tombura. I have already collected their guns and given them to the government. If they say I have forces that were to be gathered, I don’t know, ” said Mr Davido.

 “We are civilians and we did not go for any training, so after the fighting ended, we came back with no guns.”

When contacted for comment, the Spokesperson of the South Sudan People’s Defense Force, Maj. Gen. Lul Ruai told The City Review that his office has not received any information about Mr Davido’s forces surrendering weapons to the government yet.

“I have no idea about that,” said Maj. Gen. Lul.

However, The City Review could not independently verify the statement as attempts to reach the county and police commissioners were futile.

In June, an inter-communal fight broke out in Tombura County that consequently claimed hundreds of lives, displaced thousands of others, and destroyed most of the community’s property and livelihoods.

Forces belonging to Maj. Gen. Nando of SSPDF and the SPLA-IO have been accused of aiding the conflict that also expelled the humanitarian agencies operating in the area.

After the withdrawal of the two forces—Nando’s and SPLA-IO forces—the county gained relative calm, with some internally displaced persons (IDPs) returning home amidst dire humanitarian need, according to the CTSAMVM.

“The situation in Tombura is currently stable with some NGOs resuming operations, although the humanitarian situation remains dire,” Maj. Gen. Gemechu said.