South Sudanese government accused rebel fighters loyal to Paul Malong of attacking its bases in Western Bahr al Ghazal region as a new round of peace talks between the warring sides nears.
SPLA army spokesman Lul Ruai Koang said rebel troops attacked a government base near the town of Raga in Western Bahr al Ghazal region.
“On the 9th of this month, forces comprise of fighters from Paul Malong and those loyal to Riek Machar attacked our positions at Mangayat, but they were repulsed,” he said.
“On the 11th, there was also renewed fighting at Balaku, southwest of Raja town, and several rebel fighters were killed. There was a second attempt to infiltrate into Raja town from the direction of Balaku, our forces also fought them and the rebels were driven back towards Dulo area,” he added.
Lul said they inflicted heavy losses on the attackers.
For his part, Sunday de John, a spokesman of the rebel group led by Gen. Paul Malong denied that their forces attacked the government’s positions in Western Bahr al Ghazal region.
“We have not attacked any government outpost in South Sudan. We also don’t have any joint military cooperation with Riek Machar because we are not ready to attack any area in the country,” Sunday told Radio Tamazuj.
SPLA-IO spokesman could not immediately be reached for comment.
The talks between the South Sudan parties in Addis Ababa are expected to be convened by the East African bloc IGAD on May 17 and are aimed at bringing the warring sides back to the negotiating table.