South Sudan’s rebels twice attacked government forces in Nasser but were repulsed, according to SPLA-Juba acting spokesperson Joseph Marial.
Marial said at least 41 rebels were killed in the fighting. On Sunday the SPLA reported on national television that 31 rebels were killed while President Salva Kiir put the number at 37 during a speech at Juba International Airport.
Marial said they are yet to confirm the number of government soldier casualties.
He added that the government troops did not pursue the rebels. “We are for self-defense,” he said.
SPLA-In Opposition military spokesperson Lul Ruai Koang denied the government’s claims of rebel attacks in an emailed statement, but he did not offer any figures on casualties.
“The correct version of events is that government forces attempted to advance on our positions at Ketbek 2km southeast of Nasir town,” the statement said. “The government forces were driven back to Nasir in line with Resistance Movement’s Containment Policy of preventing loyalists from making more territorial gains beyond Bentiu, Ayod, Malakal and Nasir town centers.”
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