The South Sudan People’s Defence Forces (SSPDF) are advancing toward Nasir County, raising fears of renewed clashes with local armed youth known as the White Army.
The move follows the SSPDF’s withdrawal from Ulang County on Sunday morning.
Ulang and Nasir counties share a border in Upper Nile State, roughly 400 kilometers (250 miles) north of the state capital, Malakal.
Manpiny Pal Juach, the White Army-appointed commissioner of Ulang, told Radio Tamazuj on Sunday that SSPDF forces and allied militia left Ulang’s headquarters around 8 a.m., heading toward Nasir.
“The SSPDF is now on its way to Nasir and has left Ulang,” he said. “During their three-day stay in Ulang, they killed a mentally ill man, who was buried on Friday.”
Juach also accused the SSPDF of killing several cattle and said Ulang’s youth had withdrawn before their arrival, leaving the area empty. He added that an airstrike in Ulang on Sunday killed two women and a child around 10 a.m.
Multiple sources on the ground confirmed the SSPDF’s departure from Ulang.
Upper Nile State Police Commissioner Maj. Gen. Mayen Akol said the SSPDF’s planned destination was their base in Nasir.
“If they left Ulang this morning, their destination is Nasir,” he said. “I am not sure if they departed in the morning, but I know the plan was to go to Nasir.”
Tensions in Nasir have been high since mid-February, with sporadic clashes between the SSPDF and the White Army, a Nuer armed youth group the government claims is linked to detained First Vice President Dr. Riek Machar.
Violence escalated on March 4 when the White Army overran the Nasir garrison, forcing SSPDF forces to retreat.
On March 7, a United Nations evacuation mission came under fire, killing Nasir garrison commander Lt. Gen. David Majur Dak, his bodyguards, and a U.N. staff member.