Video Showing Over 1,000 SPLA-IO Fighters Defect to SSPDF in Ayod County

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Ayod County, Jonglei State More than one thousand armed youth affiliated with the Sudan People’s Liberation Army-In Opposition (SPLA-IO) have defected to the South Sudan People’s Defense Forces (SSPDF) in Ayod County, Jonglei State. Machar’s Defense Declares Juba Special Court Illegal: Court Mandate Expired, Demands His Immediate Release The defectors, who publicly declared their allegiance to the national army over the weekend, were officially received by Ayod County Commissioner James Chuol Jiek alongside senior heads of organized forces in the area. Commissioner Chuol praised the group’s decision, describing it as a “bold step toward lasting peace and unity” in the county.  Two Rebel Grounds and RSF Unites:  Rebel Forces and RSF Forces Regroup Near Sudan Border, South Sudan Officials Warn ‎ He assured the returnees of full government protection and urged other holdout groups to lay down their arms and join peace efforts. Local authorities say the integration of the defected...
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Power Struggle in Upper Nile: Nasir Commissioner Defies Suspension, Accuses Governor of Destabilizing Peace

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Suspended commissioner of Nasir County. 


‎Tensions are escalating in Upper Nile State after Governor Gen. James Koang Chuol suspended the Commissioner of Nasir County, James Gatluak Lew Thiep, a senior member of the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement-in-Opposition (SPLM-IO).

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‎The move, issued in a gubernatorial order on Friday, provides no official explanation and comes amid growing cracks in South Sudan’s unity government, formed under the fragile 2018 peace agreement between President Salva Kiir and First Vice President Dr. Riek Machar.

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‎Hon. James Gatluak Lew, defiant in the face of the suspension, has declared the order null and void, stating it violates the terms of the power-sharing deal. “I was in my office today,” he told the media “I called all the chiefs of Nasir and the community, and they rejected the suspension. I will continue to serve.”

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‎He accused Governor Koang who also hails from Nasir and is affiliated with President Kiir’s SPLM party of provoking military tensions in the county. “He tried to enter Nasir with military barges and triggered instability. Instead of being held accountable, he was rewarded with governorship,” Gatluak said.

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‎The SPLM-IO official also claimed he was targeted for exposing alleged aerial bombings on civilians by government forces remarks that reportedly angered high-level officials. “I told the truth. That’s why they want me out. But I will not abandon my people.”

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‎The political storm follows a deadly clash on March 4, when the White Army a militia group linked to Machar’s loyalists captured Nasir from government forces. The area, near the Ethiopian border, remains volatile.

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‎With community leaders backing Gatluak and SPLM-IO leadership aware of the suspension, fears are mounting that the standoff could deepen divisions within the transitional government and derail ongoing peace efforts.

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‎As uncertainty grips Upper Nile, the episode underscores the fragility of South Sudan’s peace and the high stakes of unresolved political power struggles.

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