Brigadier-General Joseph Gai, SPLA commander in Manyo County, denied that defected forces loyal to Riek Machar have taken control of Wadakona.
He claimed that security conditions in Manyo were stable and said that recent shooting was caused by a drunken soldier shooting indiscriminately, which sparked confusion within the ranks of the SPLA.
Gai was speaking to Radio Tamazuj on Friday after recent reports of dissent within the army’s ranks in the county, which caused displacement of citizens in the area.
The county commissioner reported on Thursday that opposition troops took over Wadakona, the county seat. He explained that 180 troops defected there on Wednesday.
The general could not confirm reports that defectors also took over Kaka to the south, saying people there could only be contacted by Thuraya satellite phone, and they had no point of contact there to tell them the situation.
Photo: A member of SPLA Division Seven Cobra in Manyo County, Upper Nile State, 7 October 2013 (Radio Tamazuj)
Related coverage: Hundreds of defected SPLA take over west bank towns in Upper Nile (16 Jan.)