The governor of South Sudan’s Wau State has urged opposition fighters in the area to accept dialogue and join the SPLM-IO faction led by First Vice President Taban Deng Gai.

Addressing worshipers at a Catholic Church in Wau town on Christmas Day, Governor Andrea Mayar called on the people of Wau to live in peace and love, while calling on members of the SPLM-IO faction allied to former vice president Riek Machar in the area to join Taban Deng for the sake of peace in Wau State.

“All those who claimed that they support Riek, they have now changed, they are now with Taban Deng, so we call on our sons to take the same position and announce their position and join Taban, because Taban is the one who will solve your problem,” said Mayar.

For his part, Col. Nicola Gabriel Adam, spokesman for the SPLA-IO forces in Wau, rejected the governor’s call to support the incumbent First Vice President Taban Deng Gai, saying Taban is now part of the current government in Juba.

“Mayar does not have powers to tell us that we should join Taban Deng, he is a governor working for the government in Wau. Yes, Taban Deng was under the leadership of Dr. Riek Machar, but because of his personal interests, he decided to join the government,” said Adam.

“So Taban Deng is now part of the government and not part of the armed opposition, and we do not want to join him,” he added.

Separately, Nicola said that their forces came under attack carried out by government forces at Bringi area south of Wau town, saying the attack resulted in the killing of an elderly man.

Radio Tamazuj couldn’t reach government officials in the area to comment on the armed opposition's claims.