The SPLA-In Opposition rebel group has denied charges that it received weapons and ammunition from the government in Khartoum.
A report released this week by the London-based Conflict Armament Research (CAR) group documented Sudanese and Chinese-made weapons and ammunition among military materiel captured from the SPLA-IO in Pigi County, Jonglei state.
The materiel was identical to other weapons that Sudan has provided to South Sudanese rebels in recent years, and showed damage from being airdropped. CAR determined that this evidence along with eyewitness reports of airdrops of weapons to the rebels indicated that Sudan delivered military equipments to the SPLA-IO.
A spokesperson for the rebels, James Gatdet Dak, said that the evidence presented is not conclusive to prove that the weapons were delivered to them from Khartoum during the war.
“We want to make it clear that even if the descriptions indicating sources of the weapons were to be true, this does not necessarily mean the weapons were delivered directly to our forces,” Gatdet said.
He claimed that the SPLA-IO is instead armed with weapons and ammunition that it has captured from government troops.
“For those who may not know it, South Sudan government buys weapons from Sudan. They also buy others from China as revealed last year when a consignment of $38 worth of weaponry were shipped through Port Mombassa of Kenya destined for South Sudan,” Gatdet said.
“Since we have been capturing sizable quantities of weapons from the government, seeing a Sudanese or Chinese manufactured weapon shouldn’t be a surprise. It shouldn’t also be alleged as evidence of receiving weapons from Khartoum.”
Related:
Document: Khartoum airdropped weapons to S Sudan rebels (2 Jun.)