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------Original message------ From: John Ashworth <[email protected]> To: "Group" <[email protected]> Date: Wednesday, March 6, 2013 11:13:10 AM GMT-0500 Subject: [sudan-john-ashworth] South Sudan begins military operations against Yau Yau rebels 1. South Sudan Army Kills Dozens of Yau Yau Rebels Manyang David Mayar VOA - March 05, 2013 JUBA, SOUTH SUDAN — South Sudanese soldiers have killed at least 28 members of David Yau Yau’s rebel group and recovered several weapons in clashes in Jonglei state, army spokesman Colonel Philip Aguer said Tuesday. Ten SPLA soldiers were wounded in Monday's fighting, which was sparked when rebels ambushed a group of South Sudanese soldiers, Aguer said. The SPLA recovered three rocket-propelled grenade launchers and anti-tank weapons after the fighting, Aguer said. The fighting may mark another shift in Juba's stance on the Yau Yau rebellion, which is accused of being behind numerous attacks on civilians, including the deadliest cattle raid in two years. Last week, Juba was making peace overtures to Yau Yau, with Vice President Riek Machar travelling to Jonglei state to follow up on an effort by lawmakers to bring Yau Yau to the negotiating table. Less than two weeks earlier, South Sudan's Deputy Defense Minister Majak D'Agot Atem insisted the government would not negotiate with Yau Yau, and vowed to defeat his rebel movement by "the end of the dry season," which usually runs until May. On Monday, Aguer said, "All the efforts to bring (Yau Yau) into reconciliation have failed; the only way is to fight him. ”Yau Yau began his rebellion against Juba in 2010 after failing to win a seat in parliament in the Sudanese general elections. He accepted President Salva Kiir's offer of amnesty following South Sudan's independence in 2011, but re-launched his rebellion in April last year. Yau Yau’s rebels are accused of being behind a deadly cattle raid in Jonglei in January, in which more than 100 people, including 15 SPLA soldiers, were killed. That attack was the deadliest reported in the state since the United Nations said 900 people were killed there in 2011, in violence that officials also linked to cattle rustling. http://www.voanews.com/content/south-sudan-army-says-yau-yau-rebels-killed/1615520.html END1 2. South Sudan begins military operations against Yauyau rebels March 5, 2013 (JUBA) – The South Sudanese army has begun massive military operations to free Jonglei state’s Pibor county from the rebellion of David Yauyau in the Murle land, which it says is backed by Khartoum. Senior government officials say the rebels have refused to respond to calls for a peaceful settlement to the rebellion and were instead receiving supplies of ammunition and weapons airlifted from Khartoum in order to resume their operations against the state government in the coming rainy season. The government, while deploying its troops silently to encircle the rebels for the last one week, has also been calling on Murle civilians to evacuate their villages and move to the counties main towns where they would be better protected and avoid being hurt in crossfire in the rural areas. Pibor county’s commissioner, Joshua Konyi, on Monday said the military operations targeting rebels bases has begun, citing a fierce fighting which took place on Monday at 2pm in the area of Komkom. Konyi, a Murle, said the South Sudanese army has inflicted heavy casualties on the rebels and seized weapons and ammunition as it pursues them, adding that civilians were safe. “It was exactly 2:00pm and our forces controlled the situation and captured 2 RPGs, 1 PKM, 1 GM4 rifles and manage to kill 7 of them [rebels]. Our forces are in a good position," the commissioner told Sudan Tribune. The commissioner also echoed the call to the Murle civilians to come to towns and leave their rural villages until the rebels were cleared from the area. Senior military officials in Juba have also confirmed to Sudan Tribune the engagement with the rebels in their hideouts. The new military operations came in the wake of the recent brutal killing of 104 migrating Lou-Nuer unarmed civilians and 14 soldiers in Walgak area of Akobo County by a group thought to be loyal to David Yauyau. The army has also been tasked with forcefully disarming the young Murle men who have resisted voluntarily surrendering their guns, despite the fact that other neighbouring communities such as Dinka and Nuer had given in their guns to the authorities. Vice president Riek Machar in his latest attempt to persuade the Murle to disarm visited their main town Pibor and called on the youth through their elders to listen to the government and avoid the rebellion. However, Murle leaders have time again alerted the government that majority of armed Murle youth have already joined the rebellion and disarming them will mean fighting them as rebels with Yauyau. Lou-Nuer leaders have appealed to the government to provide more protection in their areas, warning that the hit-and-run rebels may avoid direct confrontations with the army and instead look for soft civilian targets. In recent weeks, however, there have been calls for a peaceful settlement of the conflict, but Yauyau, according to state officials, said he would only respond if international mediators are included as part of the process initiated by local leaders. The rebellion in Pibor County was founded by David Yauyau in 2010 in rejection of elections results which declared that he lost his bid to become a member of the state parliament representing Gumruk. In 2011, the rebel leader responded to amnesty calls from South Sudan’s president, Salva Kiir, and returned to Juba, only to re-launch his rebellion in April last year. Since then, clashes between the army and forces loyal to him have gravely affected the security situation in Jonglei, with the latest peace attempt seen as key in efforts to salvage peace in the region. A peace process, initiated by Murle traditional and political leaders early this year, suffered a setback following clashes between the SPLA and rebel forces. A soldier and two civilians died during the clash after armed men, commanded by James Kuburin, resisted orders from the army to surrender their weapons. (ST) http://www.sudantribune.com/spip.php?article45722 END2 ______________________ John Ashworth Sudan, South Sudan Advisor [email protected] +254 725 926 297 (Kenya mobile) +211 919 695 362 (South Sudan mobile) +27 82 050 1235 (South Africa mobile) +44 750 304 1790 (UK/international) +88 216 4334 0735 (Thuraya satphone) PO Box 52002 - 00200, Nairobi, Kenya This is a personal e-mail address and the contents do not necessarily reflect the views of any organisation -- -- The content of this message does not necessarily reflect John Ashworth's views. Unless explicitly stated otherwise, John Ashworth is not the author of the content and the source is always cited. You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "sudan-john-ashworth" group. 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