Fresh fighting erupts in South Sudan state
AFP | PETER MARTELL
Southern Sudanese men point to a billboard commemorating those who died fighting the north in the bitter 1983-2005 civil war, and the former rebel leader and first southern president, the late Dr John Garang, in the southern capital of Juba on September 30, 2010.
JUBA, Sunday
Fresh fighting erupted in South Sudan on Sunday following a rebel assault on civilian and police bases in Pigi County in the troubled Jonglei state, officials said.
Militiamen loyal to rebel leader and former army renegade General George Athor Deng attacked Atar village from four directions, killing scores of villagers and wounding others, deputy governor Hussein Maar Nyuot said.
“I am informed they attacked from many directions. They killed civilians and the fighting is continuing,” Mr Maar said.
“The militia attacked us at around 5am,” said villager Monybuny William, adding: “They have burnt houses and stolen our cattle. The situation is bad.”
According to eyewitnesses, villagers fled towards Malakal in Upper Nile state to seek safety.
The attack comes barely weeks after the rebels failed to reach an agreement with a government delegation in Nairobi, after which General Athor vowed to instigate more violence.
General Athor took up arms for the bush after losing a race for state governor last year when he ran as an independent candidate, claiming the elections were rigged in favour of the incumbent SPLM’s Kuol Manayng Juuk.
The rebels want representation in both central and state governments for them to lay down their arms.
Another dissident group that rebelled following elections was headed by Peter Gatdet, who later sealed a deal with the government and returned to Juba.
Accepting bribes
But Gatdet’s senior rebel commanders rejected the deal, accusing him of accepting bribes from the government. They vowed to stay put.
Other rebel groups which sprung up at the same time have gone underground. The government views General Athor’s conditions as a bad precedent for election losers.
“The phenomenon that has been happening has been that when you rebel, you will be appeased,” deputy Speaker Daniel Awet Akot said recently. “But this time, the law will take its course.”
The escalating violence underscores a lack of cohesion in the face of continued aggression at the crumbly borders with Sudan.
