Eight SPLA-IO Officers Died in Bid to Evacuate  Gen. Majur Dak, Lawyers Assert

By Awan Achiek

Defence lawyers representing suspended First Vice-President Dr. Riek Machar and seven co-defendants have stated that eight officers from the Sudan People’s Liberation Army-in Opposition (SPLA-IO) were killed while assisting army commander the late Maj. Gen. David Majur Dak during an evacuation attempt on 7 March at the Nasir garrison.

The deceased SPLA-IO soldiers include Chuol Lew, Reath Lual, Wanding Ruach, Dabth Kueth, Deng Lual Dut, Guek Kun Lam, Chuol Yien, and John Jikany.

On the same day, Gen. Majur and 27 of his bodyguards were killed during an attempted evacuation by a UN mission plane in Nasir.

Dr. Riek Machar, aged 72, and his associates face allegations of murder, treason, and crimes against humanity at a special court presided over by a panel of three judges in connection with the Nasir incident.

Dr. Machar’s defence counsel, Kur Lual Kur, questioned Major Peter Malual Deng, the prosecution’s first witness and a military investigator, about whether he was aware that the eight soldiers seen in a video carrying Maj. Gen. Majur to the plane were SPLA-IO officers.

“They belong to the SPLA-IO, but I don’t know their names. However, the same SPLA-IO members who carried him also took him to the people who killed him,” Maj. Malual responded.

Kur then asked if Maj. Malual was aware that all eight soldiers who assisted Maj. Gen. Majur to the UN helicopter were killed alongside him.

Malual stated that he had not investigated whether they were killed with the army commander, but he acknowledged that many people lost their lives at the hands of the SPLA-IO.

Kur further questioned whether the joint investigation committee planned to inquire about Majur’s wife regarding his circumstances during the attack.

“As a joint investigation committee, we rely on the file report. We didn’t investigate the entire battalion involved in the Nasir incident,” Malual replied.

Kiir questioned why the attack had not been addressed administratively, as had been done previously with assaults on the SSPDF by the White Army.

He noted that the White Army, supported by the SPLA-IO, did not opt for patience this time to resolve the issue through administrative means and instead chose to attack convoys transporting soldiers to Nasir to assist their fellow troops.

Warnyang Kiir Warnyang, another of Machar’s defence counsel, asked Malual what actions had been taken to prevent an attack on the Nasir garrison following intelligence reports about a plan to target the SSPDF base in Nasir County.

Malual stated that General Gabriel Duop, who was acting as chief of defence at the time, received intelligence about a plan to attack the Nasir garrison but failed to report it to the country’s leadership or take preventive action.

“Gabriel Duop was acting chief of defence forces at that time because the chief of defence force was out of the country for a meeting. He (Gabriel Duop) was informed about the plan to attack the Nasir garrison and did not take action or inform the leadership about the attack plan,” Malual explained.

The court, presided over by Judge James Alala Deng, has adjourned until Friday, 5 December, to continue the cross-examination of Maj. Malual.