A force of approximately 1,500 soldiers from Abyei area have defected from South Sudan's army and joined the Sudan People’s Liberation Army-North (SPLA-North), a defected officer said Thursday.

Speaking with Radio Tamazuj from an area near South Sudan's border, Maj. Ayuel Kiir, one of defected officers, said over 1,500 SPLA soldiers including 20 officers with various ranks announced their defection from South Sudan's army SPLA on Thursday.

The defectors accused the Juba government of neglecting the issue of Abyei, which is the homeland of the Ngok Dinka tribe.

Kiir explained that the issue of Abyei has been pending for more than three years in spite of repeated assaults on the area by the Khartoum government. He pointed out that they joined the SPLA-North led by Malik Agar to take their rights from the Sudanese government.

Radio Tamazuj was unable to reach the SPLA leadership to comment on Kiir’s claims.

File photo: A soldier in Turalei in 2011 (Rebecca Hamilton/Pulitzer Center)