South Sudan's English Daily Newspaper
"We Dare where others fear"
The fighting between the South Sudan People’s Defense Force (SSPDF) and the Sudan People’s Liberation Army-in opposition in Nagero County, Western Equatoria State continues unabated and civilians are paying the heavy price.
The renewed clashes between the two sides have left several civilians killed and over 70,000 displaced from their homes since last year.
The SSPDF and the SPLA-IO have traded counter accusations over starting the fight, which the SSPDF spokesperson claims emanates from disagreement over the removal of the border at Kubri Boo Bridge manned by the SPLA-IO, as part of the resolutions agreed upon at the 8th Governor’s Forum last year.
This fighting could have been avoided if the top military leaders of the two sides, who are based at the military headquarters in Juba, had held dialogue on the matter. It’s ironic that the same forces fighting are supposed to have been integrated long way back into one army.
The current chaos is largely attributed to the lack of political will on the part of the concerned leaders, to speed up the complete unification of the forces.
The Revitalized Joint Monitoring Evaluation Commission and Ceasefire Transitional Security Arrangements Monitoring and Verification Mechanism (CSTAMVM), need to exert pressure on the warring parties to cease hostilities.
