An Open Letter to Hon. Adut Salva Kiir: Phase One to Stop Aerial Bombardment of Civilians in South Sudan
By Paulino Mamiir Chol, Colorado, USA
Wednesday, 26 November 2025 (PW) — Dear Honorable Adut Salva Kiir, Senior Presidential Envoy on Special Programs, I hope my humble advice reaches you in good health and that you have time to read it, as you have access to social media. I am Paulino Mamiir Chol. I was born and raised in Twic County, Warrap State, South Sudan. I joined the Sudan People’s Movement/Army (SPLM/A) in 1987. I am a Former Red Army Leader from South Sudan. I went to the United States to further my studies.
I have decided to give you my best and humble advice after seeing some changes in the South Sudanese Government because of you. From Tuesday, November 25, 2025, to Saturday, April 25, 2026, I will advise you for 6 months on what you can and cannot change through your father. You have made a few improvements. You started visiting South Sudanese veterans/political elders and recruited their children into the South Sudanese Government, which indicates unity.
I have three questions for you: (1) Can you arrange a meeting with General Nhial Deng Nhial and persuade him to reverse his decision? (2) Can you see the children of Late General Kerubino Kuanyin Bol, Late General William Nyuon Bany, and Late General Arok Thon Arok, and recruit them into the South Sudanese Government? (3) Can you visit the South Sudanese diaspora communities and gather their opinions on South Sudan?
However, our country has been bleeding, which has forced me to offer you some excellent advice for better improvements. My great advice on (1) is to stop aerial bombardments of civilians in South Sudan. (2) Stop recycling ministers and governors, (3) refusal to disclose dismissal reasons of ministers and governors, (4) absence of women in the positions of finance minister and bank governor, (5) solve diplomatic troubles, and (6) stop encouraging rebellions through extensions.
I have divided my advice into phases. Phase one will be focused on stopping aerial bombardments of civilians, which will create permanent disunity in South Sudan. Our South Sudanese Government should stop bombing the civilian population in the Upper Nile and Bhar El Ghazal Regions. I believe that bombing civilians has become an injustice against our country.
Martin Luther King Jr. said, “Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.” Martin Luther King Jr. expressed this sentiment in his 1963 “Letter from Birmingham Jail.” King was arrested for his peaceful protests against racial segregation. King emphasizes the universal nature of justice, asserting that injustice in one corner of the world endangers justice everywhere. His assertion is a compelling reminder that societies should not tolerate any form of injustice, whether local or global, as it jeopardizes the entire framework of human rights and equality.
The local forces tasked with protecting their people, cattle, and property are not a real threat to national security in South Sudan. You decided to visit our elders and advised your father to employ the children of our veterans/political elders, but I believe that the external actors didn’t tell you to visit our elders and recruit their children into the South Sudanese Government.
There is a saying: African problems should be solved by Africans. Therefore, the South Sudanese people should solve the South Sudanese problem, but not the Ugandan military.
The real dialogue among South Sudanese people will be a key to solving our internal issues. I firmly believe that the external actors cannot solve our internal issues. The Ugandan Air Force cannot solve the problem of intercommunal violence in South Sudan. We have five vice presidents and 550 members of parliament because we accept the external actors to solve our internal issues.
It is always a very ugly idea to pay the Ugandan military to kill your civilians and refuse to organize and pay the South Sudanese soldiers to protect the sovereignty of South Sudan. Our South Sudanese Government invites the Ugandan military to solve our ethnic conflicts, which will never happen. The main ethnic conflicts in South Sudan were caused by (1) child and women abduction, (2) cattle raids, and (3) land disputes, which became the parents of nepotism, tribalism, and corruption in South Sudan. The American Founding Father and the third president of the United States from 1801 to 1809, Thomas Jefferson, said, “When injustice becomes law, resistance becomes duty.”
Unfairness and inequality become law in South Sudan when the government bombs and tries to disarm one side. Therefore, it is their right and duty to defend themselves from the South Sudanese Government. The SPLM/A leader, Dr. John Garang Mabior, authorized local forces to defend their people and property when we were in the bush. There were Gelweng/Titweng and Abushok in response to the killing of civilians, kidnapping of children and women, and cattle raiders from Khartoum militias. Second, the Nuer have White Army to protect their cattle from the Murle. After the war, we expected the government to secure their homes and integrate them peacefully. However, the government failed in security and used the Ugandan Air Force to bomb the civilians.
Third, the Arrow Boys militia, which was operating in the Equatoria region. The militia was created as a self-protective group that was named after their use of poisonous bows and arrows and other traditional weapons. The militias aimed to fight the Dinka cattle herders.
Fourth, the Agwelek militia in Shilluk to protect their land and take over Malakal as their state. The Agwelek militias have been involved in the conflict in South Sudan and have a complex history of alliances. At first focused on defending Shilluk lands, their forces have fought alongside different factions of the SPLA and are currently allied with the South Sudanese Government. The group’s actions have included conflicts over strategic locations, such as the ports of Atar and Tonga along the White Nile. The Agwelek have been receiving support, including fuel and military equipment, from the South Sudan People’s Defense Forces (SSPDF).
Fifth, the Cobra Faction emerged in Murle to fight for a new state, kill people, kidnap kids, and raid cattle from the Bor Dinka, Nuer, and Taposa.
Sixth, in the land dispute between the Ngok and the Twic Mayardit communities, Titbaai emerged with support from the South Sudanese Government to defend the Abyei Box. Ngok politicians and retired generals (Deng Alor Kuol, Dr. Mading Deng Majok, Dr. Biong Deng Majok, General Kuol Diem, and General Pieng Deng Majok) designed the Abyei Box to annex the Twic Mayardit land.
However, Titweng of Twic Mayardit, in self-defense, responded to Titbaai from Ngok. Recently, General Jima Rehan and Twic County Commissioner John Mabior Marup destroyed Titweng. They killed over 30 Titweng with the fire squad, arrested countless Titweng, and took control of the checkpoints in the Twic land. They assigned their family members to collect revenue taxes at checkpoints and used the proceeds for their own benefit. The family members of the runaway Titweng have been arrested and beaten in chains by the soldiers of General Jima Rehan. They looted their goats and sorghum. Conversely, the Titbaai controlled their checkpoints and continued killing the Twic Mayardit members in Athony and Aniet. General Jima Rehan and Twic County Commissioner John Mabior Marup have been destroying Twic Mayardit. They should be relieved; otherwise, there will be a kickback in the future from those they killed their loved ones.
Seventh, SPLM-IO and other holding groups have been using the White Army and Arrow Boys to achieve their objectives (positions) in South Sudan.
Lastly, after the South Sudanese Government failed in protecting its people, the Red Belt emerged to protect its people and cattle. The youth groups in Bor land faced a challenge to prove that they are not cowardly generations. The statement by President Salva Kiir Mayardit has been a motivating factor for the Red Belt Formation. President Salva Kiir said at the funeral of the people who were killed by the Murle that, “A man was running away from a lion while he had spears in his hands. People who saw him running, shouting at him, don’t run away while you have spears in your hand. You can spear the lion. When the running away man heard the shouting of his people, he stopped, turned his head toward the lion, and speared the lion to death. Therefore, you ran away from Murle while you had spears in your hands.”
President Kiir’s statement about the man who fled from a lion encouraged the Dinka youth group in Jonglei State to organize and confront the Murle. The Red Belt is a volunteer youth group that focuses on protecting their people and livestock. In addition, the Red Belt was inspired by the calls from elder politicians in Jonglei State to the youth to return home and prove their bravery.
I believe the Red Belt is a planted tree. It is around a 15-year-old tree. It has been planned for a long time. Therefore, you cannot remove the tree without addressing its roots.
The Jonglei State Governor, Dr. Riek Gai Kok, and Bor County Commissioner Ateny Pech Ariik have been working hard to disarm the Red Belt, but it will never happen unless the two powerful men are relieved of their posts to avoid a bloodbath in Jonglei State.
My excellent advice is that you tell your father that fighting the Red Belt is a red line. The only solution is genuine dialogue with politicians, retired generals, community and youth leaders, traditional authorities, and the diaspora leaders from the Bor, Duk, and Twic East communities, aimed at addressing their demands. These stakeholders are the roots of the Red Belt.
Alexander Hamilton said, “The first duty of society is justice.” Alexander Hamilton, one of America’s Founding Fathers, made this statement to convey that justice is the foundation of a functioning society. Hamilton believed that a society without justice cannot truly thrive.
I firmly believe that South Sudan cannot have unity and truly succeed without justice. Please tell your father President Salva Kiir Mayardit to stop killing civilians in the Upper Nile, especially in Adong Payam of Baliet County, by the SPLM-IO and White Army of Ulang County. In addition, advise your father to stop bombing civilians in Warrap and Western Bhar El Gahazal.
In short, you should advise your father President Salva Kiir to stop the aerial bombardments of the civilian population and the decision to disarm the Red Belt. Second, you should influence your father President Salva Kiir to (1) remove the Uganda military from South Sudan. (2) Use genuine dialogue with politicians, retired generals, community and youth leaders, traditional authorities, and the diaspora from the conflicting communities to address their demands. (3) Equip and pay the SSPDF to protect the sovereignty of South Sudan. With justice and equality, we can achieve permanent unity in South Sudan. Finally, if you believe in your work, I recommend that you visit the South Sudanese diaspora communities for at least one month and gather their perspectives on South Sudan.
My next writing will focus on phase two to stop recycling national figures.
Respectfully Submitted,
The author, Paulino Mamiir Chol, is the Investigation Committee Chairperson of the Twic Mayardit Community in the USA; Former Chairperson of the Interim Committee of the Twic Mayardit Community in the USA; Former leader of the Lost Boys/Red Army from 1988 to 2004; Author of Leading the Lost Boys; Ph.D. student in Management and Homeland Security at Colorado Technical University (USA); Master’s degree (LLM) in Law and Policy from the University of Denver Sturm College of Law; Bachelor of Arts degree in Criminal Justice from the University of Colorado; and Associate degree of applied science in Homeland Security and Emergency Management: E-mail: [email protected]; Phone: 719-232-4960
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