Return weapons or risk arrest, S. Sudan rebels tell defectors

[Elisabeth Janaina]

Return weapons or risk arrest, S. Sudan rebels tell defectors

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August 2, 2017 (JUBA) - South Sudan’s armed opposition forces allied
to former First Vice-President, Riek Machar have warned soldiers who
defected to the National Salvation Front (NSF) to return all arms or
ammunitions taken after the recent clashes around Yei River state.

JPEG - 33 kb
Rebel fighters greet one another at a rebel camp in South Sudan’s
Jonglei state on 1 February 2014 (Photo: Reuters/Goran Tomasevic)

A deputy spokesperson for the armed opposition, Col. Lam Paul Gabriel,
said their forces would continue to hunt down the rebel defectors
should they fail to surrender the weapons they took away.

“The SPLA-IO [Sudan People’s Liberation Army-In-Opposition] would like
to make it clear that our main enemy is the Juba government, but not
the National Salvation Front. All we need from Gen. [John] Kenyi is
the weapons he disarmed from our forces and the community and the
ammunitions given to him for protection while he was still the SPLA-IO
sector 8 commander,” he told Sudan Tribune.

Lam appealed to the NSF leadership to immediately bring back the
ammunition they disarmed from their soldiers, but warned that failure
to return the weapons would attract military confrontations.

He called for calm among civilians around Yei River state and urged
the population to continue with their usual day to day activities.

Last week, the armed opposition forces clashed at Yori in South
Sudan’s Yei River state, following a split among rebel fighters after
some groups declared allegiance to the leadership of the NSF.

Dozens of troops on both sides are feared to have died during the
attack in Yei River state.

The hostilities erupted in South Sudan in 2013, when President Salva
Kiir fired Machar, who was the leader of South Sudanese armed
opposition forces.

The parties signed a peace deal in August 2015, but hostilities
resumed in July 2016.

(ST)

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Kind regards,

The Sudan Tribune editorial team.

3 August 09:12, by Sir King

Ha ha ha ha haaaaaa! This Riek Machar assimilated rebels are
really mad and insane. How do you expect someone who had rebelled to
return the weapons and ammunition to you, guys. Just reason before you
release such nasty word that will make people laugh at you. You are
really stupid like your leader, Machar Teny.

repondre message
3 August 09:15, by Kush Natives

That’s laughable!

repondre message
3 August 09:17, by Sir King

Riek Machar is not educated really. How could he allow uneducated
man drug his feet for nothing. Kiir Mayardit, uneducated man drugged
Machar’s feet into unnecessary war and Machar accepted in response.
He(Machar) would have dodged the intention of Mr. Kiir and wait for
election and beat Kiir thoroughly. Shame on you REBELS. Let Kiir
remains in his power and you will blame nobody.

repondre message
3 August 09:21, by Sir King

- Just continue killing your brothers and sisters in the
Equatorian jungles and when you finish yourselves, DINKA that you
don’t want today will come back and cultivate or keep their animals in
your empty lands. So, let DINKA go back to their respective regions
per now but later, after EQUATORIANS exhausted themselves, DINKA will
still come back and stay in Equatoria regions. STUPID PEOPLE..

repondre message
3 August 17:16, by jubaone

Sir King,
No, don’t worry about MTN vagabonds and squatters who are
seeking a place to settle. We already have solutions for them and they
will find no peace in Equatoria. Their cows are free bush meat for
Equatorians. Let them come.

repondre message
3 August 09:33, by Augustino

No, this impediment call is not from a wise military man, how come
a rebelled soldier return a weapon that he/she used against you back
to you?

Sudan Tribune has no customer at all, why do they talk to these
weak leaders.

repondre message
3 August 09:34, by Sir King

- Ambushing innocent civilians will not chase Salva Kiir away but
it will make you soon declared terrorists and you will be hunted down
like Joseph Konyi of Lord’s Resistant Army of Uganda.

repondre message
3 August 11:29, by Lenin Bull

Hahaha!!! What goes around comes around. Rebellion within
rebellion.Now Nuer rebels threatening Equatorian rebels for abandoning
Riek’s IO and joining their own brother Thomas Chirilo.Soon the
Equatorian jungle will be hunting ground where Nuer rebels and
Equatorian rebels will be playing hide and seek to kill. First the
Nuer rebels fervently preached the killing of the innocent Dinka
civilians in

repondre message
3 August 11:35, by Lenin Bull

Nuerland and Equatoria region. Soon all will be hearing and seeing
Nuer being hunted in Equatorian jungle just like the Dinka, and the
Nuer rebels with brutal forces will retaliating with devasting forces.
All meaningless rebellion in the first place with wrong strategies of
civilians killing as the legitimate targets. It was all predicted that
this Riek’s second rebellion in South Sudan will

repondre message
3 August 11:39, by Lenin Bull

miserably failed finally no matter how much it initially struck
the whole country with deadening lightning disasters and thunderous
devastations like it what happened in Bor, Malakal, and Bentiu. RIEK
IS A DISASTER TO SOUTH SUDAN.

repondre message
3 August 11:45, by Lenin Bull

Where did NGUNDAENG IO get this weird logic that if part of your
rebel movement rebel/revolt from you then you have to ask them
militarily to return the weapons or else you launch a war on them?
SPLM/SPLA MAINSTREAM did not ask Riek and Lam Akol to return their
weapons in 1991 when they rebelled out of cowardice and joined
Khartoum in 1997. Nowhere such as a condition happened in the history
of

repondre message
3 August 13:07, by Lenin Bull

revolution and rebellion. After all a rebel find himself or
herself rebelling with whatever weapon in his hand or within his
reach. SPLA-IO rebelled with South Sudan government weapons in 2013
and they were asked to return them or else that will be cause of more
fighting.Pure moronism.

repondre message
3 August 13:21, by Lenin Bull

I mean the SPLA-IO was not asked to return the weapons of
South Sudan government after they rebelled in 2013. Their condition to
Equatorian rebels joining Gen.Chirilo is brinkmanship pure and simple.
Or called it war mentality entrapment. Any way let us wait and see how
the Equatorian rebels are going to take it.

repondre message
3 August 14:03, by mikerooney

This is good for S.Sudan for safety point of view.
Celebs Movie Jackets

repondre message
3 August 14:56, by Raan

Is Col. Lam Paul crazy or its the failure of their Dr. Riek who is
under house arrest in S.A that made every IO of Riek desperate and to
the extend of requesting defected soldiers to return their weapon.
These guys are done. as he said their soldiers was disarm by defectors
because they were few in number; how will they confront those defected
soldiers?. RIP IO of IO of Riek Machar.

repondre message
3 August 18:29, by Redeemer

Guys the really was that, Nuer disarmed a small group of
Equatorians at first but equatorians responded from other base and
disarmed Nuer in another base and the game continued, it was funny
down there in the bush