South Sudan Army denies defection of SPLA soldiers to General Gadet Article Comments (3) Email PrintSave --------------------------------------------------------------------------------
By Ngor Arol Garang April 9, 2011 (WAU)-The Sudan People’s Liberation Army (SPLA) which became the official army in the oil producing region on Saturday denied reports and allegations suggesting defection of some soldiers from division 4 to Major General Peter Gadet. The South Sudan government confirmed defection of Major General Peter Gadet in late March saying the senior military officer was granted an official permission allowing him to go to Nairobi, Kenya, but changed the route to Khartoum. Gadet was a deputy SPLA division three commander in Northern Bahr el Ghazal with headquarters at Wunyiik before he defected. This week security officers from South Sudan government intercepted what was described as a plan by six of his personal guards under 1st Lieutenant Mabany Bol to seek a flight to Khartoum. SPLA believes this means they want to join Gadet in Khartoum. But the Northern army denied any link to the renegade officer. "We have reports from their colleagues with whom they used to sleep together in the same rooms in Wunyiik that the bodyguards, especially the officer who was in charge used to talk with Gadet privately during late hours in the night and in the bathrooms and some times in toilet." said asecurity officer who spoke to Sudan Tribune from Juba on Saturday requesting to remain anonymous. "We also have reports that the officer held private meetings with only guards belonging to Gadet twice and did not give any convincing statement when he was asked reasons for holding private meetings," he added. The officer said nobody will “ever entertain” those wanting to topple the democratically government. "There will be no questioning of why they did that if proved they were planning to follow the so called Peter Gadet," said the officer. "If you reconcile the history of our struggle you will certainly find that there are certain people who like defecting just only for their interest even if they are the most favored in term of assignment. They like switching loyalty from time to time," said another security officer who also declined to be named. On Friday the Khartoum-based daily newspaper Al-Intibaha reported that 3,000 soldiers around Unity State from the southern army in division 4 announced crossing to General Gadet in Parieng County. Reports reaching Sudan Tribune from oil producing southern State of Unity from both official and ordinary people also confirmed defection of some soldiers to General Gadet in areas around Parieng. "Yes, there are reports that some individual soldiers from the family of General Gadet have defected. I have confirmed this development from some of our SPLA soldiers in Panrieng town that some of the SPLA soldiers from the SPLA Division 4, who have family connections to Peter Gatdet have left, said a member of the State Legislate Assembly in Bentiu, capital of Unity State." "Most of these soldiers are believed to be predominantly members of Nuer Bul ethnic group. They shot up their guns and moved out to join Peter Gatdet in an SPLA post nearby Heglig", said the official who declined to be named. He said this development has generated a fear in and around Parieng that a curfew has been placed from as early as five o’clock in the evening to seven in the morning. "This is a massive defection. I do not have figures of how many of them but I am told some soldiers are reported to have left. This is what necessitated placement of curfew in the town," explained the official. However, Colonel Phillip Aguer Panyang, spokesman of the SPLA, in an interview with Sudan Tribune denied defection of any SPLA soldier and described the reports as “incorrect and lies.” "This is not correct. We do not have such information. None of the SPLA soldiers in division 4 has defected. These are just lies. They are only fabrications coined up by Khartoum. There is nothing like that, said Colonel Aguer," spokesman of the SPLA. The military officer further said a sensible member of the SPLA who fought against the north will never defect to the north after attaining the objective of why south Sudan took up arms. "These are baseless and unfounded reports. They are just like some of the lies Khartoum is making against the south through their media. There can never be any single truth about this report because a reasonable member of the Sudan People’s Liberation Army who comes from the south will never defect after attaining objectives of why we took up arms against the North, said Colonel Aguer. (ST) -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "JFD info" group. To post to this group, send email to [email protected]. To unsubscribe from this group, send email to [email protected]. For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/jfdinfo?hl=en.
