JUBA: South Sudan’s opposition accused government forces of attacking one of its military positions in Central Equatoria State on Tuesday as their fragile power-sharing agreement continues to unravel.
Central Equatoria State, which includes the capital Juba, was split into areas controlled by government and opposition forces under a 2018 power-sharing deal that ended South Sudan’s five-year civil war, in which an estimated 400,000 people died.
The agreement brought President Salva Kiir and his long-time rival, Vice President Riek Machar, together in a unity government.
But the deal has been unraveling in recent months as Kiir moves to sideline Machar, who was placed under house arrest last month.
“The SSPDF (South Sudan People’s Defense Forces) has attacked Panyume cantonment site from multiple directions this morning,” opposition party spokesman Lam Paul Gabriel said on Facebook.
“Clashes are still ongoing and details will follow later,” he added.
Facing sustained attacks on its positions, the opposition forces commander directed his troops to prepare for conflict, according to another statement by Gabriel on Tuesday.
“Lt. Gen. Peter Thok Chuol hereby directs all sectors, divisions and all units of the SPLA-IO (Sudan People’s Liberation Army in Opposition) to be vigilant and promptly defend themselves and the civilians under their control areas,” he said.
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South Sudan opposition says under fresh govt military attack
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South Sudan opposition says under fresh govt military attack
- “The South Sudan People’s Defense Forces has attacked Panyume cantonment site,” Gabriel said
- “Clashes are still ongoing and details will follow later“
Thousands stage pro-Gaza rally in Istanbul
- Thousands joined a New Year’s Day rally for Gaza in Istanbul Thursday, waving Palestinian and Turkish flags and calling for an end to the violence in the tiny war-torn territory
ISTANBUL: Thousands joined a New Year’s Day rally for Gaza in Istanbul Thursday, waving Palestinian and Turkish flags and calling for an end to the violence in the tiny war-torn territory.
Demonstrators gathered in freezing temperatures under cloudless blue skies to march to the city’s Galata Bridge for a rally under the slogan: “We won’t remain silent, we won’t forget Palestine,” an AFP reporter at the scene said.
More than 400 civil society organizations were present at the rally, one of whose organizers was Bilal Erdogan, the youngest son of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
Police sources and Anadolou state news agency said some 500,000 people had joined the march at which there were speeches and a performance by Lebanese-born singer Maher Zain of his song “Free Palestine.”
“We are praying that 2026 will bring goodness for our entire nation and for the oppressed Palestinians,” said Erdogan, who chairs the board of the Ilim Yayma Foundation, an educational charity that was one of the organizers of the march.
Turkiye has been one of the most vocal critics of the war in Gaza and helped broker a recent ceasefire that halted the deadly war waged by Israel in response to Hamas’s unprecedented attack on October 7, 2023.
But the fragile October 10 ceasefire has not stopped the violence with more than more than 400 Palestinians killed since it took hold.
Demonstrators gathered in freezing temperatures under cloudless blue skies to march to the city’s Galata Bridge for a rally under the slogan: “We won’t remain silent, we won’t forget Palestine,” an AFP reporter at the scene said.
More than 400 civil society organizations were present at the rally, one of whose organizers was Bilal Erdogan, the youngest son of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
Police sources and Anadolou state news agency said some 500,000 people had joined the march at which there were speeches and a performance by Lebanese-born singer Maher Zain of his song “Free Palestine.”
“We are praying that 2026 will bring goodness for our entire nation and for the oppressed Palestinians,” said Erdogan, who chairs the board of the Ilim Yayma Foundation, an educational charity that was one of the organizers of the march.
Turkiye has been one of the most vocal critics of the war in Gaza and helped broker a recent ceasefire that halted the deadly war waged by Israel in response to Hamas’s unprecedented attack on October 7, 2023.
But the fragile October 10 ceasefire has not stopped the violence with more than more than 400 Palestinians killed since it took hold.
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