At least 48 killed in clashes between army, opposition in northeast South Sudan: Reports

By Mevlut Ozkan

ISTANBUL (AA) - At least 48 people were killed and more than 152 injured in clashes between South Sudan’s army and opposition forces in a northeastern border town, local media reported on Sunday, citing the state governor.

The clashes began on Saturday when forces from the Sudan People's Liberation Movement-in-Opposition (SPLM-IO) attacked a base belonging to the South Sudan People's Defense Forces (SSPDF) in Burebiey, a town along the South Sudan-Ethiopia border in Nasir County, Upper Nile State, Governor James Koang told local outlet Eye Radio.

The governor said, according to reports they received, more than 48 members of the SPLM-IO and the allied White Army militia were killed and over 148 injured, while the SSPDF sustained no fatalities and only four soldiers were wounded.

Koang urged calm and called on the opposition forces for an end to attacks on SSPDF.

“We are for peace, and if anyone wants to talk to us, we are available,” he said.

South Sudan gained independence from Sudan in 2011 but descended into civil war two years later.

The implementation of the 2018 peace agreement has been slow, and recent tensions have risen following deadly clashes between the White Army, a rebel group believed to be allied with First Vice President Riek Machar, leader of the main opposition SPLM-IO, and the SSPDF in Nasir County, in the northeastern state of Upper Nile.

In March, the East African nation’s President Salva Kiir Mayardit placed Machar and his group under house arrest, following deadly clashes between the White Army rebel group and government forces in Upper Nile state.

On Sept. 11, Kiir suspended Machar and Petroleum Minister Puot Kang Chol, the same day the justice minister charged them with multiple crimes, including treason and murder.