South Sudan’s army (SSPDF) on Sunday deployed troops in the town of Akobo in Jonglei state, days after announcing it had recaptured the area from opposition forces, several sources said.
Akobo County, near the border with Ethiopia, is considered a strategic area. It had been the last remaining stronghold of the opposition Sudan People’s Liberation Army-in-Opposition (SPLA-IO) in the Lou Nuer areas following the capture of bases in Nyirol and Uror counties.
The development marks the first time the South Sudan People’s Defence Forces (SSPDF) have regained control of Akobo since the civil war erupted in December 2013.
Multiple sources told Radio Tamazuj that SSPDF soldiers entered the town on Sunday with vehicles and military equipment and began patrolling the area after residents fled to neighbouring Ethiopia.
There were reports of fighting on Saturday morning before government troops were seen fully deployed in the town on Sunday, the sources said.
SSPDF commanding officers also held a meeting with officials from the United Nations mission in Akobo to discuss cooperation on providing security in the area.
Videos posted on social media by the SSPDF and reviewed by Radio Tamazuj also showed government troops in the town.
The army had earlier said it recaptured Akobo on March 10, but a large number of its forces and equipment remained stationed in the nearby area of Dec-Deng across the river, several kilometres west of the town.
Following the deployment of SSPDF troops on Sunday, government-appointed Akobo County Commissioner James Kueth Makuach issued a statement urging residents carrying firearms to keep their weapons at home and move freely in a civilian manner.
“Anyone who defies this order will be held individually accountable as we work to normalise the situation,” he said.
Makuach also called on residents who had fled the town to return.
“I appeal to the entire civilian population of Akobo County – chiefs, local government officials, women, teachers, traders, faith-based groups and humanitarian organisations – to voluntarily return to the town,” he added.
Separately, the SPLM-IO-appointed commissioner of Akobo County, John Wiyual Lul, who has crossed into Akobo-Tiergol on the Ethiopian side of the border, addressed members of the Lou Nuer community during Sunday prayers at the United Church.
According to local accounts of the gathering, Lul urged community members to maintain peace and unity and advised displaced residents to remain alert while staying in their temporary locations.