Senior government officials in South Sudan’s Boma State have recently approached opposition members allied to Riek Machar to encourage them to support the new First Vice President Taban Deng Gai, a local official said.

Khalid Botrous, a leading figure in the SSDM-Cobra Faction, told Radio Tamazuj that local officials managed to persuade leaders of the SPLM-IO faction in the area to defect to Taban Deng Gai.

Separately, Khalid Botrous revealed that David Yau Yau’s forces are being reintegrated into police and wild life services, saying some soldiers are currently undergoing military trainings.

Khalid, who deputizes David Yau Yau, pointed out that cantonment sites have already been designated in order to canton the remaining forces prior to their reintegration into government forces after the rainy season.