About 300 young men and older boys were forcibly recruited by SPLA-IO rebels under the command of General Gabriel Tanginye over the weekend in Fangak County in northern Jonglei, which is near the frontline area of Malakal in Upper Nile State.
A source in Old Fangak said that the rebels on Sunday morning went house to house looking for youths, accusing many of having earlier deserted the rebel group and forcing them to re-join.
He said that schoolboys were also warned that they may be swept up in the next round of recruitment unless they have a student ID to prove that they are still studying.
This latest recruitment drive follows a larger conscription campaign earlier this year in which thousands of people in Fangak County were made to join the SPLA-IO.
According to the source, the recruitment in the county is ongoing and it will continue so that new recruits will serve as replacements for fighters already killed in battle.
The SPLA-IO believe that “victory is achieved through sacrifice,” the source explained. “Nobody here believes in a negotiated peace settlement, or only with a lot of pressure by controlling strategic locations on the ground.”
Related:
S Sudan rebels recruited another 500-1000 youth and children in Upper Nile this month (24 June)
New Fangak town ‘wiped off the map’ (22 May)