(ST)

Thirteen (13) soldiers belonging to South Sudan’s army, the Sudan People’s Liberation Army (SPLA), were killed in the southern part of Akot payam of Rumbek East County of Lakes state, allegedly as part of a revenge attack carried out by pastoralists.

Armed civilians yesterday by one account ambushed a lorry which was carrying food to Akot, killing 13 soldiers and wounding 20 others at Makur-Agar. The civilians who attacked the truck took away 20 firearms. This information was relayed by the official SPLA Spokesman Maj-Gen. Kuol Deim Kuol.

"We are sending in more reinforcement troops to Lakes state. We must disarm those civilians by all means," said Kuol.

However, local sources described the January 1st confrontation as beginning on the premises of the house of Paramount Chief Dut Malual Arop. Community leaders denied the statement of Kuol saying that the community was resisting disarmament.

Chief Sahwat Malual Arop confirmed that 3 civilians were killed on the premises of the house of the paramount chief, while 4 sustained injuries in an attack that he said was organized by SPLA soldiers.

According to the account of Chief Sahwat Malual, the soldiers arrived at Chief Dut Malual’s house located at Makur-Agar. However, Chief Dut was in at his house’s birth-room. When the soldiers found youth playing a traditional game under a tree, they immediately started firing at youth killing 2 brothers.

Chief Malual said "All the houses around Akot were burned down by soldiers - what is the matter? – is this government loyal to protect her civilians? Communities’ properties are burnt down and looted by soldiers. Those soldiers are having a different agenda against the community".

An angry youth member told Sudan Tribune that "those who are sent by SPLA headquarters to disarm our youth in Lakes state are militia groups — they are not well trained soldiers. They are from Division 5, all of whom are Nuer tribesmen who fought badly with us during Dr. Riak Machar’s defection in 1991".

"Nuer usually loot our cattle across Lakes state and our state government orders us to return back their looted cows but Nuer natives do not return back our cows that they have looted," said the youth member. However, the SPLA spokesman dismissed this tribal designation, saying "There are no tribal soldiers in South Sudan; all in Division 5 are SPLA soldiers".

In an earlier clash in the same payam last Monday, December 28, two SPLA platoons fought a three-hour gun battle with forces loyal to the same chief, resulting in the deaths of five soldiers and two or three pastoralists.