JUBA: South Sudan’s military has ordered all civilians and personnel from the UN mission and all other charities to evacuate three counties in Jonglei State ahead of an operation there against opposition forces.
Clashes that the United Nations says are occurring at a scale not seen since 2017 have been convulsing South Sudan, Africa’s youngest country, for months. Some of the fiercest fighting has taken place in Jonglei, located in the country’s east on the border with Ethiopia, where the South Sudan People’s Defense Forces (SSPDF) is seeking to halt an offensive by fighters loyal to Sudan People’s Liberation Army-in-Opposition (SPLA-IO). An operation code-named “operation enduring peace” was “imminent,” the SSPDF said in a statement on Sunday. The military said all civilians living in Nyirol, Uror and Akobo counties in Jonglei were “directed to immediately evacuate for safety to government-controlled areas as soon as possible.” All personnel from the United Nations Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS) and those working for non-governmental organizations were also ordered to evacuate the three counties within 48 hours. “Our peacekeepers in Akobo remain in place, carrying out all efforts under our mandate to help de-escalate tensions and prevent conflict,” a UNMISS spokesperson told Reuters. She did not say whether UN staff also remained in the other counties. Last week SPLA-IO called on its forces to march on South Sudan’s capital Juba, signalling a major escalation. Earlier this month SPLA-IO forces seized the town of Pajut in heavy fighting in the north of Jonglei and the town’s capture was seen as putting the state capital of Bor at risk.
In a statement on Sunday UNMISS said 180,000 people in the state had already been displaced by the conflict and urged South Sudan’s leaders “to put the interests of their people first by stopping the fighting.”
Medical charity Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) said in a statement on Sunday it had evacuated key staff from Akobo county after “clear instruction from the relevant authorities, and in response to the deteriorating security situation in the area.”
SPLA-IO forces led by South Sudan’s vice president Riek Machar battled the military in the 2013-18 civil war, which was fought along largely ethnic lines and killed about 400,000 people.
A peace deal in 2018 quieted the conflict, although localized clashes have persisted.
South Sudan orders UN personnel, civilians to leave parts of Jonglei State
https://arab.news/5mz9q
South Sudan orders UN personnel, civilians to leave parts of Jonglei State
- UNMISS said 180,000 people in the state had already been displaced by the conflict and urged South Sudan’s leaders “to put the interests of their people first by stopping the fighting”
Nine Nigerian troops killed, several missing in jihadist ambush
- “We lost nine soldiers in an ambush by Daesh-WAP terrorists and many others are still missing,” a military officer said
- The soldiers dispersed in all directions following sustained gunfire from the militants
KANO, Nigeria: At least nine Nigerian soldiers were killed and over a dozen are missing after Daesh-aligned militants ambushed a military patrol in northeast Borno state, military and militia sources told AFP Tuesday.
Fighters from Daesh West Africa Province (Daesh-WAP) on Friday used explosives and guns to attack a column of more than 30 troops on foot patrol outside the town of Damask near the border with Niger, the sources said.
“We lost nine soldiers in an ambush by Daesh-WAP terrorists and many others are still missing,” a military officer said.
The soldiers, who were 25 kilometers (15 miles) from their base, dispersed in all directions following sustained gunfire from the militants, said the officer who asked not to be identified.
“The terrorists detonated an explosive device they had planted on the road in advance, increasing the casualties and confusion among the soldiers,” he said.
Eight soldiers managed to return to base while the rest remain missing, including their commander with the rank of a major, the officer said.
“A man who identified himself as an Daesh-WAP terrorist keeps answering the call to the commander’s mobile phone, suggesting he is in the hands of the terrorists,” he added.
Ya-Mulam Kadai, a spokesman for government-funded anti-militant militia assisting the military in Damask, gave the same casualty toll.
The nine bodies of the slain soldiers were recovered by a military search team deployed at the scene of the attack, he said.
The military did not respond to AFP’s request for comment.
The Nigerian military has in recent weeks intensified ground operations against Daesh-WAP, particularly in its Sambisa forest stronghold, with the military making regular claims of killing huge numbers of militant fighters.
Daesh-WAP and rival Boko Haram factions have been attacking military targets, raiding bases, laying ambush and planting explosives against patrols on highways.
Nigeria’s insurgency has killed more than 40,000 people and displaced around two million in the northeast since it erupted in 2009, according to the United Nations.
The conflict has spilled into neighboring Niger, Cameroon and Chad, leading the region to launch a military coalition to fight the militant groups.
