The national army, South Sudan People’s Defence Forces (SSPDF), has refuted claims of fresh attacks against the holdout National Salvation Front (NAS) in parts of Central Equatoria State.
Over the weekend, the South Sudan Opposition Movements Alliance (SSOMA) released a statement condemning what they referred to as ‘unprovoked and ongoing attacks by the Juba regime on the positions of the National Salvation Front (NAS) in Central and Western Equatoria States.’
“The National Salvation Front (NAS) a SSOMA member, has witnessed extensive and continuous attacks on its military positions all over the Equatoria by forces of the SSPDF. The attacks took place on the 5th and 18th January in multiple bases in Lainya County (CES) and on 26th January in Lainya and Wonduruba,” the statement seen by Radio Tamazuj read. “These unprovoked attacks by SSPDF have been met with formidable resistance by NAS forces in defense of their bases and civilians in the area.”
But speaking to Radio Tamazuj on Monday evening, SSPDF spokesperson Major General Lul Ruai Koang denied the allegations.
“I have not received any reports that our forces are fighting with NAS. There are many forces in the forests; there are IO forces and others. So, they may be fighting each other because we are not in the forests, we are in specific places,” Gen. Ruai said.
SSOMA went on to accuse the Juba regime of seeking a military victory instead of a peaceful resolution to the conflict in South Sudan.
The coalition of opposition parties further reiterated their commitment to the Rome peace process but stressed that ‘SSOMA will not tolerate attacks and aggression on its positions’.