A group of 200 soldiers accompanied by hundreds of civilians has moved out of South Sudan’s embattled Unity State and into uncontested Warrap State, traveling on foot away from the battle zone.The SPLA troop was seen on Monday in Warrap’s Twic County having crossed from Mayom County to the east. The civilians accompanying the group are said to be families of the soldiers. In total the group is estimated to be 600 people, according to a source working in Warrap State for UNMISS, the peacekeeping mission in South Sudan.
The group are apparently heading toward an SPLA base in Aweil in Northern Bahr al Ghazal, where they want to leave their families. Although no vehicles were seen with the group, the soldiers reportedly asked for fuel from the SPLA commander in Twic County and the county commissioner. From another source it was reported that on Tuesday afternoon 11 wounded soldiers arriving from Mayom County were admitted to a hospital in Turalei in Twic County.
It is likely that the group consists of ethnic Dinka soldiers from the 4th Division who elected to leave their command when the division commander defected and declared his opposition to the Juba government. They passed through Mayom County, which is at least partially under the control of the government, but would not have found that area secure for their families because it is inhabited by Bul Nuer and is too close to the fighting.
The UNMISS source also expressed concern over fuel shortages in the state. He noted that the UNMISS bases in Warrap have ceased to receive fuel supplies from Juba and now must rely on delivery from the regional Wau base.
Photo: A snapshot of the humanitarian situation in South Sudan as of 25 December 2013 (OCHA)