Activist urges warring parties to choose dialogue over military confrontation

By Simon Deng

The Executive Director of the Community Empowerment for Progress Organization (CEPO), Edmund Yakani, has urged warring parties in South Sudan to resolve their leadership disputes through dialogue rather than military confrontation, amid reports of clashes in Panyume, Morobo County, and parts of Unity State.

“We are appealing to warring parties that however much you disagree over control of leadership, you have to resolve your differences through dialogue rather than through military confrontation,” Yakani stated in a statement issued on Wednesday.

He acknowledged that “military confrontation or conflict between the two groups are already witnessed in some parts of the country including Panyume in Morobo County and some part of Unity State.”

Further escalating tensions, government forces reportedly repelled an attack by the Sudan People’s Liberation Army in Opposition (SPLA-IO) at the Bari military outpost in Kotobi Payam, Mundri West County, Western Equatoria State, on Tuesday, October 13, 2026.

Yakani strongly condemned the military clashes between the South Sudan People’s Defense Force (SSPDF) and SPLA-IO forces in Mundri West.

 “This is something that is disturbing. This is something that is posing a threat to any political transitional process in the country, and this is complicating the environment of the election,” he asserted.

He urged the United Nations Human Rights Commission for South Sudan to investigate, document, and publish reports on human rights violations, expressing concern over safety across the country.

“Grave human rights violations should be documented so that one day, one time in the future, someone will be held to account for committing those grave human rights violations,” Yakani added.

Yakani warned that violent conflict across the country could constitute grave human rights violations, war crimes, or even lead to genocide against certain communities.

Referring to the internal divisions within the SPLA-IO, Yakani noted, “We have seen formal exchange of conflicting messages between the two SPLA-IO over control of leadership and management of the group. And as civil society, our concern is about safety and security of civilians under the territories that are controlled by them.”

He concluded with a dire warning: “As we speak now, we have a serious concern through our early warning system that Southern Unity, Panyijiar, and Leer counties may experience deadly violence among the two groups.”