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AYOD - 13 Dec 2017

Rebels say situation calm in Phow state after last month's clashes

Calm has returned to Phow state in South Sudan's greater Jonglei after clashes that caused fear among local residents last month.

South Sudanese rebels allied to the former First Vice-President Riek Machar claimed that they are in full control of the security situation after heavy fighting with government forces in the area of Wau last month.

Bol Khan Rom, the press secretary of the rebel-appointed governor of Phow State, told Radio Tamazuj on Monday that the locals in the area are now preparing to commemorate the fourth anniversary of Juba incidents in December 2013.

However, he pointed out that their forces under the command of Governor Johnson Kuol Gai were ready to fight back if attacked by government troops in the area.

South Sudan descended into civil war in 2013, only two years after its independence, when President Salva Kiir removed his deputy, Riek Machar.