South Sudan rebel attack ‘kills 80’ and Rebels claims advance towards Warrap
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South Sudan rebels capture Mayom town – Gen. Bapiny
visit Sudan Tribune
South Sudan rebels warn U.N., residents to leave border state before attacks
- The warning comes after the militias kill 39 in a neighboring state
- The government says the attackers were part of the South Sudan Liberation Army
- The rebels say they are fighting corruption and domination
- South Sudan became a nation in July, separating from Sudan
(CNN) — A South Sudan rebel group warned the United Nations and residents to leave a remote border state within three days or risk coming under fire as it launches an attack on the local government.
The South Sudan Liberation Army said Saturday it was headed to Warrap state after an earlier attack on Mayom town in neighboring Unity state.
Both states are in South Sudan, near the border with Sudan.
The goal is to “liberate” the state from the government in Juba, the group said in a statement.
“Within few days, the people of Warrap will be liberated from abject poverty, corruption and abuse of human rights,” the militia said. “We would also advise the civilians to evacuate all towns and move to villages in order to be safe,” it said.
The warning follows an attack in oil-rich Unity state that killed 39 people, a South Sudan government spokesman said Saturday.
Liberation army militias carried out the attacks against civilians, spokesman Yein Matthew said.
South Sudanese government forces were pursuing the attackers through nearby woods, according to Matthew. One militia leader has been captured and is being questioned.
Liberation army members have clashed with the military of South Sudan, which separated from Sudan and became independent in July. Led by former officers of the southern army that fought neighboring Sudan in a 22-year civil war, the militias have taken up arms against their former comrades and become a challenge for the world’s newest nation.
The South Sudan Liberation Army has said it is fighting corruption and domination of Dinkas, the new nation’s main ethnic group.
South Sudanese President Salva Kiir has offered amnesty deals to the rebels. Several truces have not been honored, according to the Enough Project, which seeks to end genocide and crimes against humanity.
CNN’s Brian Walker contributed to this report.
http://edition.cnn.com/2011/10/30/world/africa/south-sudan-attack/index.html
Death toll of Mayom clashes put at 75 amid mutual claims of victory
October 29, 2011 (JUBA) – Saturday’s fighting between South Sudan army and rebel forces around Unity State’s western town of Mayom has resulted in the death of over 70 people, according to state officials who also denied rebels’ claim of capturing the town.
- A photo of the aftermath of previous clashes in Mayom (http://www.southsudanadvocates.org/index.html)
Meanwhile, rebel forces asserted claims of controlling Mayom, and warned that their forces were now moving to attack the neighboring state of Warrap.
The attack on Mayom, which lies 93 km from Bentiu, the provincial capital of the oil-rich Unity State, was first reported on Saturday morning by the rebels, South Sudan Liberation Movement/Army (SSLM/A) which claimed it captured the town after four hours of fierce clashes with South Sudan’s forces known as Sudan People’s Liberation Army (SPLA).
However, state official denied the fall of Mayom, claiming that the official army had repulsed the attack and inflicted heavy losses of lives among the rebels.
Gideon Gatpan, the official spokesman of Unity State’s government, told Sudan Tribune on Saturday that the attack of SSLA forces led by James Gai Yoach had occurred at around 6 am and the ensuing clashes lasted for one hour before rebel forces were “repulsed.”
According to Gatpan, SPLA forces had killed more than 60 rebel fighters, including a high-profile colonel known a Ruathdeal Gatwei Thong, and captured one soldier.
Gatpan also claimed that SPLA forces on Friday chased away “a group of renegades” who were planting landmines around Mayom.
The spokesman also said that 15 civilians were killed and 18 others sustained injuries in the attack. He however gave no figure of causalities among SPLA forces.
He further said that one of the wives of the SPLA’s Deputy Commander-in-Chief, Gen. Paulino Matip Nhial, was killed in the attack.
“The situation is under control … The rebels are still being chased away,” Gatpan said in an aside with AFP.
He also suspected that the attack was motivated by the rebels’ desire to disrupt the disarmament process in unity which, according to him, has collected 1,000 guns, over half of them in Mayom.
Mayom County has been the epicenter of rebel groups’ activities in Unity. Predominantly populated by the Nuer Bul community, Mayom is the subject of a disarmament campaign that started in 2010.
South Sudan alleges rebels supported by Khartoum
Meanwhile, SPLA’s spokesman Philip Aguer told AFP that six SPLA soldiers and three police were killed. He also said SPLA forces captured three more fighters in the east of Mayom County.
According to the military spokesman, the rebels were organized and trained in South Kordofan, a north Sudanese state bordering South Sudan, saying that they were “supported by Khartoum.”
“In Heglig (a small town in South Kordofan), they were given a lot of land mines on the 26th of this month, and then they started moving immediately” to the south, Aguer was quoted by AFP. “it’s obvious it’s from there (South Kordofan). They have a camp in Nyala [a town in Sudan’s western region of Darfur]”
Aguer also said rebels led by Commander Matthew Pul Jang had come from Sudan to support other militia leaders in South Sudan, and had clashed with SPLA forces Friday in Tor Abith and Tumur.
South Sudan, which seceded from Sudan in July this year, has repeatedly accused Khartoum of supporting rebel groups within its territories.
Similarly, Sudan accuses Juba of supporting its erstwhile allies who are fighting Khartoum’s army in Sudan’s border states of South Kordofan and Blue Nile.
Rebels claims advance towards Warrap, warns NGOs to leave
A statement released by the SSLA on Friday reiterated claim that the group wrestled control of Mayom and its forces were advancing to “liberate” the neighboring state of Warrap.
The rebels also said they captured Tomor town and were now advancing towards the state capital Bentiu.
According to the SSLA, its forces had killed “700 SPLA soldiers, captured 23” and destroyed a great amount of SPLA weaponry.
The group also warned UN and NGOs’ staff to vacate their offices in Warrap State “within three days” and urged civilians “to evacuate all towns and move to villages in order to be safe.”
“SSLA forces, under the command of Maj. Gen. Bepean Machar, are now going towards Warrap State to liberate it from corrupt government in Juba. Within few days, the people of Warrap will be liberated from abject poverty, corruption and abuse of human rights,” the rebels said.
The group issued a similar warning on Friday, advising NGOs and UN to leave Unity State within a week for their own safety.”
The rebel group accused Juba of having no intention to seek a negotiated settlement to the crisis, saying that Salva Kiir’s government “believes in military solution to end the war in South Sudan.”
Juba has reportedly rejected an offer by the U.S. government to mediate between it and rebel groups.
“The people of South Sudan should know that the government in Juba rejected the U.S. State Department’s proposal to mediate peace in South Sudan at the end of September,” the rebels said.
The SSLA asserted that it will only accept to sit for talks with Juba under the mediation of either the European Union or the U.S. government.
(ST)
http://www.sudantribune.com/Death-toll-of-Mayom-clashes-put-at,40572
SSLM/A Forces Are Advancing Towards Bentiu Town And Warrap State
Soldiers of the South Sudan Liberation Army/Movement (SSLA/M). Photo: molochik.ruOctober 29, 2011 (SSNA) — The gallant forces of South Sudan Liberation Army (SSLA), under the command of Maj. Gen. Mathew Pul Jang and Maj. Gen. Kolchara Nyang, captured Mayom town at dawn on October, 29, 2011. Within four hours, SSLA forces also managed to capture Tomor town and they are now advancing towards Bentiu town.
The SSLA forces captured 23 SPLA soldiers, burned down five T-55 tanks, three RPGs, five PKMs, three 14.5 and two 12.5 machine guns. Two SPLA Brig. Generals were seriously wounded and seven hundred SPLA soldiers killed. The Commissioner of Mayom Town is on the run and is believed to be heading towards Bentiu town in a pickup truck.
On the other hand, SSLA forces, under the command of Maj. Gen. Bepean Machar, are now going towards Warrap State to liberate it from corrupt government in Juba. Within few days, the people of Warrap will be liberated from abject poverty, corruption and abuse of human rights.
The SSLA advises all NGOs and UN personnel to leave Warrap State within three days for their own safety. We would also advise the civilians to evacuate all towns and move to villages in order to be safe.
The people of South Sudan should know that the government in Juba rejected the U.S. State Department’s proposal to mediate peace in South Sudan at the end of September because Gen. Salva Kiir believes in military solution to end the war in South Sudan. As the SSLM/A made it clear to U.S. government, any peaceful mediation between the rebels and the government in Juba is acceptable provided that it is mediated by either the European Union or the U.S. government. Unfortunately, the government in Juba rejected third party mediation under the assumption that it would defeat the rebels militarily.
We want to bring to the attention of the international community that the government in Juba wants South Sudan to become another Somalia so that the corrupt SPLM officials would resume looting the resources of the poor people of South Sudan. Gen. Salva Kiir does not want to listen to UN Representative Hilde Johnson who advised him to return $2 billion dollars looted by sixteen SPLM officials. The people of South Sudan want development, economic prosperity and democracy. Unfortunately, the poor people of South Sudan have been subjected to abject poverty while a small clique of the SPLM officials are getting rich by looting oil money.
The SSLM/A, SSDM/A under the command of George Athor and SSDF of Maj. Gen. Gordon Koang have taken a unified position that peaceful mediation of the conflict is the only way to save South Sudan from becoming a failed state. However, the SPLM’s regime in Juba is not interested in peace and wants to pursue military option.
Therefore, the SSLA will defend the people of South Sudan from Gen. Salva Kiir the same way the Libyan freedom fighters liberated their country from Muamar Gaddafi. The people of South Sudan want clean drinking water, schools, economic development and democracy.
For contact:
Email: southsudanliberationarmy@hotmail.com
80 killed in South Sudan rebel attack
Driven out: Women line up for food distribution in a makeshift camp for the internally displaced in the village of Mayen Abun, southern Sudan. AP
ABOUT 80 people, including 60 rebels, were killed on Saturday when government forces in the oil-rich South Sudanese Unity state repelled an attack by rebel militia, officials said.
“There was a militia attack at 5 or 6 o’clock in the morning in Mayom county,” said Unity Information Minister Gideon Gatpan Thoar.
Thoar said rebels, most of them fighting under the banner of the South Sudan Liberation Army (SSLA), attacked Mayom town and that the majority of the civilian casualties were residents gunned down while “running for shelter.”
“We are counting the bodies now but over 60 militias were killed and many more wounded,” said Thoar, adding that 15 civilians were killed in the attack.
Among the dead was the notorious rebel fighter Colonel Ruadheal Gatwech, he said, adding that SPLA government forces also captured one soldier in Mayom town and three more in the east of the county.
“The situation is under control … The rebels are still being chased away,” Thoar told AFP seven hours after the attacks.
Officials could not give a precise figure on how many rebels attacked Mayom, but said that they were in the “hundreds” and had come from South Kordofan, a state on Sudan’s new border where conflict between government forces and rebels has flared since June.
“They were organised in South Kordofan. They are South Sudanese supported by Khartoum and trained there”, said Philip Aguer, spokesman for South Sudan’s military.
South Sudan seceded peacefully from the north in July following a referendum called for in a 2005 peace deal that ended a 22-year civil war, and both sides accuse the other of funding rebel groups.
Aguer said 11 civilians were killed and 16 wounded in the fight.
He said another six soldiers and three police were killed.
Thoar said the rebels had not given any motive for the attack but suspected they had come from South Kordofan to help local militias “disrupt the disarmament” in Unity that has collected 1,000 guns, over half of them in Mayom.
Rebel Captured Mayom Town.
October 29, 2011 (JUBA) — The rebel South Sudan Liberation Movement/Army (SSLM/A) announced on Saturday morning the capture of Mayom town after fierce clashes with the Sudan People’s Liberation Army (SPLA) in Unity state.
- SPLA soldiers stand in line during the Independence Day ceremony in Juba July 9, 2011. (Reuters)
The seizure of the town came twenty-four hours after the release of a statement by the rebel group urging United Nations and aid groups to evacuate the Unity state. The SSLM accused the governor Taban Deng of human rights abuses against civilians in two counties of the Unity state: Mayom and Nhial Diew.
“Our troops now control Mayom town after a four-hour battle,” Maj. Gen. Bapiny Monytuil, Deputy Head of SSLM/A Military High Command, told Sudan Tribune. He further asserted that their troops will move to other states once the Unity state is fully controlled.
“We will move to Warrap and other regions because we intend to liberate the whole South Sudan,” Bapiny said.
The rebel group said yesterday that Governor Taban ordered to divorce the wives of SSLA commanders and to confiscate the cattle they paid in dowries from their in-laws in three counties in Unity state: Nhial Diew, Mankien and Mayom.
Asked if their attack was motivated by this decision, the rebel official said this attack is directed against South Sudan’s ruling party, and its government in Juba. He stressed they are coordinating with rebel groups in other regions like George Athur whose group operates in Jonglei.
The US State Department last September offered to mediate between the Juba government and the different South Sudanese rebel groups in a bid to find a negotiated settlement to the conflict. The rebels, including Geoge Athur accepted the American initiative, but Juba showed some reluctance.
Asked about the American mediation, Bapiny claimed that Juba said it prefers direct talks with the rebel groups but they declined the offer. He further said the SPLM believes it can militarily crush any rebellions in South Sudan.
A few weeks after the start of the George Athur rebellion in Jonglei state; the United Nations Mission in Sudan (UNMIS) sought to convince Juba to accept a mediation between the two parties but Juba refused the offer.
The SSLA deputy head of military command emphasized they are peace lovers but they want an agreement addressing the root-causes of the conflict.
“We are not against peace but we refuse a deal like what Salva sealed with Peter Gatdet,” Bapiny said, alluding to the money that the former rebel leader had allegedly received before signing a peace agreement with Juba in August 2011.
http://www.sudantribune.com/South-Sudan-rebels-claim-capture,40566
South Sudan rebel attack ‘kills 75’
(AFP) – 5 hours ago
JUBA — Seventy-five people were killed on Saturday when government forces in the oil-rich South Sudanese Unity state repelled an attack by rebel militia, in which 15 civilians also died, the state’s information minister said.
“There was a militia attack at 5 or 6 o’clock in the morning (0200-0300 GMT) in Mayom county,” said Gideon Gatpan Thoar, adding that another 18 were wounded.
Thoar said rebels, most of them fighting under the banner of the South Sudan Liberation Army (SSLA), attacked Mayom town and that the majority of the civilian casualties were residents gunned down while “running for shelter.”
“We are counting the bodies now but over 60 militias were killed and many more wounded,” said Thoar, adding that 15 civilians were killed in the attack.
Among the dead was the notorious rebel fighter Colonel Ruadheal Gatwech, he said, adding that SPLA government forces also captured one soldier in Mayom town and three more in the east of the county.
“The situation is under control by the SPLA. The rebels are still being chased away,” Thoar told AFP seven hours after the attack.
Thoar said the last serious attack in Unity was early October, when the rebel group was suspected to have laid an anti-tank mine that killed 20 people in a passenger bus, and before that another mine incident in September.
On Friday, the SSLA gave the UN and aid agencies one week to evacuate Unity state, promising to “violently resist the regime of Governor Deng Taban,” who the rebels accuse of human rights abuses.
“SSLA is calling upon all NGOs and UN personnel to leave Unity State within a week for their own safety,” the group said in a statement from their Mayom headquarters.
The rebels claimed Governor Taban ordered SPLA troops to confiscate 600 cattle from SSLA Commanders family members, who were allegedly detained in unknown locations and beaten.
Cattle are vital for a dowry under local tribal customs of the Nuer people.
Thoar denied the groups claims. “All these allegations have no basis at all.”
“They do with the intention of interrupting the peaceful programme of disarmament and to recapture the civilian guns.”
Thoar said the voluntary disarmament programme had collected 1000 guns, over half of which came from Mayom county.
The rebel group is made up of forces formerly loyal to Peter Gadet, who accepted South Sudan President Salva Kiir’s offer of amnesty in August, a month after the country gained independence from the north after a 22-year civil war.
While Gadet was reintegrated into the SPLA, an unknown number of men rejected the ceasefire, accusing their former leader and renegade SPLA general of accepting government bribes.
The UN Mine Action Coordination Centre has said it will ramp up efforts in Unity state due to the increase in incidents and the approach of the dry season, when rebel groups are more active.
Insecurity is one of the fledgling nation’s biggest challenges.
Rebel militias in Unity state threaten not only the country’s economic lifeblood but also aid access and the livelihood of many civilians in the largely pastoral state plagued by fear of mines and violence.
Dozens of aid agencies like Care International, The International Rescue Committee, Medecin Sans Frontieres, The International Committee of the Red Cross are working in Unity state alongside a large UN presence.
Copyright © 2011 AFP. All rights reserved. More »
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Over 70 dead in a deadly rebel attack in Unity State
(BENTIU – UNT) A rebel attack in Mayom county in Unity State this morning claimed the life of 75 people in what seemed to have been the deadliest attack ever in Unity State since the independence on July 9 this year.
The attack carried out by the South Sudan Liberation Movement/Army (SSLM/A) took place at 5 a.m in the morning after the rebels warned aid agencies earlier on Friday that they will attack the town.
Minister Thoar also indicated that an high ranking rebel fighter, Colonel Ruadhdeal Gatwech was among the rebels killed by the national army.Ruadhdeal and his group led by Maj. Gen. Bapiny Monytuil among others refused to joint their former leader Peter Gatdet Yaka who earlier accepted an amnesty offered by the president of the republic, H.E. Salva Kiir Mayardit. The group accused Gatdet of being bribed by the government before joining the Juba based Government. the group rebelled about 3 months ago citing what they called as the Government’s domination by Dinka ethnic group.On the attack today, the group claimed that Governor Taban Deng Gai committed what they called as a “Grave human right violation” in Unity State, alleging that the Governor detained and beaten families of SSLA commanders and confiscated their belongings.South Sudan suffered from a traumatising civil war, that spans over a quarter of century. There are arms that fall on the hands of wrong civilian populations who later used them for revolts such as that orchestrated by Bapiny and his group in Unity State and George Athor in Jonglei State.The government too has made disarmament a priority since independence but there seemed to have no answer to guns flowing to the hands of the rebels from the rogue regime in Khartoum.www.untimes.orgwww.untimes.netSouth Sudan rebels threaten Warrap state, call for evacuation
JUBA | Sat Oct 29, 2011 2:32pm EDT
JUBA (Reuters) – A rebel group in South Sudan threatened on Saturday to attack Warrap state to bring down the local government and called on the United Nations and residents to leave within three days.
The South Sudan Liberation Army, one of several rebel groups in South Sudan, said it would turn its attention to the state after earlier attacking Mayom town in neighboring oil-producing Unity state, also on the border on Sudan.
“Within few days, the people of Warrap will be liberated from abject poverty, corruption and abuse of human rights,” it said in a statement.
“We would also advise the civilians to evacuate all towns and move to villages in order to be safe,” it said.
The United Nations mainly runs humanitarian operations for food deliveries and aid to local people and Southern Sudanese coming from the north.
South Sudan became independent in July after a 2005 peace deal with Khartoum that ended decades of civil war, but the new nation has been struggling to end tribal and rebel violence that has killed around 3,000 people this year.
Rebel and tribal violence undermine stability in South Sudan struggling to build up state institutions. Several rebel militias are fighting government forces in remote parts of the country, which is roughly the size of France.
Officials in South Sudan said earlier on Saturday the SSLA had killed 15 people, including nine soldiers, and wounded 18 when attacking Mayom in the morning.
“We got attacked in Mayom town today by the militias from 6 to 7 a.m. The militia attacked the town, killed 15 and wounded 18,” Unity state Information Minister Gideon Gatpan Thoar said. “More than 60 militiamen were killed.”
Army spokesman Philip Aguer said: “It was indiscriminate, they didn’t differentiate between civilians and the army. The killing included a doctor.”
Aguer said Mayom was now under army control but the SSLA rejected that, adding in its statement: “Within four hours, SSLA forces also managed to capture Tomor town and they are now advancing toward Bentiu town.”
(Reporting by Hereward Holland; Writing by Ulf Laessing; Editing by)
http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/10/29/us-sudan-south-idUSTRE79S2FS20111029
South Sudan rebel group attacks town in oil-rich state
Rebels from the South Sudan Liberation Army have attacked a town in the oil-rich Unity State and at least 75 people have died, the national army has said.
Among the dead, nine were soldiers, 15 were civilians and at least 50 were rebels, an army spokesman told the BBC.
South Sudan became independent in July after a peace deal with Khartoum that ended decades of civil war.
Afterwards, some of the region’s rebel movements struck deals with the government but several remain defiant.
Warning
Both sides produced widely differing accounts of the number of casualties after the attack in Unity State, which happened in the early hours of the morning.
The SSLA say that they killed more than 700 soldiers in the attack. Rebels’ claims that they are now in control of town of Mayom have been dismissed by locals and officials.
On Friday, rebels from the South Sudan Liberation Army (SSLA) warned United Nations staff and aid workers to leave the state. This warning has now been extended to the nearby Warrup state.
The rebels say they are fighting against corruption, underdevelopment and the domination of the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement, the former rebels who now run South Sudan.
The BBC’s James Copnall, in Khartoum, says that the SSLA’s rebellion is particularly sensitive because of its location as most of South Sudan’s oilfields – which account for 98% of the new country’s revenue – are in Unity State.
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