The planned airlifting of South Sudan People’s Defence Forces (SSPDF) troops from Nasir County in Upper Nile State did not take place on Wednesday due to a lack of coordination between local officials, commanders of the White Army and the SPLA-IO (Sudan People’s Liberation Army in Opposition), White Army members said.
The evacuation, intended to defuse tensions following recent clashes, was part of an initiative led by SPLM-IO leaders in Juba to rescue SSPDF troops stranded in Nasir. The move came after fighting erupted between the SSPDF and the White Army, a loosely organized group of predominantly Nuer youth, which overran the town and seized control of its military barracks on Tuesday.
The SSPDF leadership has accused SPLM-IO leaders of orchestrating the conflict in Nasir, a claim that has heightened tensions between the two groups. This allegation led to the arrest of several senior SPLM-IO officials in Juba, further complicating efforts to de-escalate the situation. The decision to withdraw the troops was seen as a step toward reducing tensions.
Ter Chuol Gatkuoth, one of the White Army commanders in Nasir, told Radio Tamazuj this morning that the airlifting of SSPDF commander Gen. Majuk Nyok and his troops was delayed because Nasir County Commissioner Gatluak Lew Thiep was unavailable on Wednesday.
“The UN-chartered airplane has not yet arrived to airlift the SSPDF troops. We are currently in the military barracks in Wich-Yar-Adiu,” he said.
Yien Bonbon, a member of the White Army, confirmed the delay, stating that the evacuation would proceed once the aircraft arrived. “When the aircraft comes today, they will airlift them. Yesterday, the aircraft failed to airlift them because the commissioner did not come to us. We are planning to meet the commissioner this morning,” he said.
Several sources on the ground told Radio Tamazuj that the local community in Nasir is deeply divided over the planned airlifting of SSPDF commander Gen. Majur Manyok, who remains inside a military tank following the takeover of the barracks. While some residents oppose the idea of evacuating him to Malakal or Juba, others support allowing him to leave the area to reduce tensions.
SPLM-IO officials in Juba could not immediately be reached for comment.
Casualties in Nasir Fighting
Ter revealed that more than 40 members of the White Army were killed in clashes with SSPDF forces in Nasir, which led to the White Army taking control of the military base on Tuesday morning.
“Those who were killed were members of the local armed youth. Women and children fled into the bushes, and others fled to Ethiopia due to the conflict,” he said.
When asked about SSPDF casualties, Ter said he did not know the exact number of fatalities on the SSPDF side.
Yien Bonbon also confirmed that over 40 White Army members were killed and about 77 others injured. “Women and children fled to Ethiopia and nearby bushes, but we expect them to return once calm is restored. The main challenge is that people lack food and water. Citizens desperately need assistance to return,” he said.
Yien reported that the security situation in Nasir is now calm, with the White Army currently stationed in the military camp they seized after the fighting.
South Sudan has faced ongoing challenges in fully integrating its various armed groups into a unified national army, a key provision of the 2018 peace agreement that ended a five-year civil war.
Although the country has been formally at peace since the agreement was signed by President Salva Kiir and First Vice President and SPLM-IO leader Dr. Riek Machar, political tensions remain high as South Sudan prepares for its first post-independence elections, scheduled for December 2026.