Government troops claimed Friday that they killed a rebel commander during fighting in South Sudan’s  Western  Lakes State on Tuesday.

Lul Ruai Koang, SPLA's military spokesperson, told Radio Tamazuj that the commander killed was affiliated to a new rebel group calling itself Pan African Patriotic Movement in Western Lakes State.

Lul identified the rebel commander killed as Anyar Anyar, claiming he had been recruiting youths in the state in coordination with the armed opposition group led by former first vice president, Riek Machar.

But the spokesman for the rebel SPLM-IO forces, Lam Paul Gabriel, denied knowledge of the incident.