The Community Empowerment for Progress Organization (CEPO) has questioned South Sudan authorities in Western Bahr el Ghazal State about the presence of the Uganda People’s Defense Forces (UPDF) in Raja County.
Since last week, local residents told Radio Tamazuj that they have seen a group of foreign soldiers and their armored vehicles on their way to Raja County.
Speaking to Radio Tamazuj on Friday, CEPO state coordinator Stephen Robo Musa, who has been in Raja Town and returned to Wau Town on Thursday, also confirmed the presence of foreign forces and said he saw the UPDF soldiers stationed at the airstrip in Raja and in the Boro Madina area. He said UPDF airplanes were landing daily.
“In the past few days, we have seen a high presence of the Ugandan forces in Boro Madina, we have seen their presence there and as a civil society, we are wondering about what they are doing there without the knowledge of the citizens,” he said. “We are all wondering why there is a presence of foreign forces in the state, particularly in Raja County, while we all know that the nation is observing peaceful coexistence after signing the 2018 revitalized peace agreement and up to now, the relationship between the peace signatories is progressing well.”
Robo added: “It would be good for the state or national government to keep the citizens informed about why there is a presence of foreign forces in the state.”
According to the activist, it is interesting to see the UPDF presence in South Sudan yet they have been encroaching on the territories of the country.
“We know that the Ugandan Army has a problem at the border with South Sudan and there are atrocities that happened and our government needs to inform citizens why these forces (UPDF) are in the state,” he remarked.
When contacted, the South Sudanese military spokesperson, Major General Lul Ruai Koang, said he does not know about the presence of the UPDF in the country.
“I am not aware of the presence of the Ugandan forces in the country,” he stated. “Maybe you can contact the government spokesperson over the matter.”
Efforts to reach government spokesperson and Information Minister Michael Makuei Lueth were futile.