SPLA-IO invites government soldiers to defect as violence surges

JUBA – South Sudan’s main armed opposition Sudan People’s Liberation Army in Opposition (SPLA-IO) on Monday appealed to government soldiers to defect, declaring that it had opened communication channels at all levels to facilitate the switch as fighting intensifies across the country.

In a statement issued on Monday morning, SPLA-IO spokesperson Col. Lam Paul Gabriel said the current conflict had been “imposed” on the opposition and civilians by the government in Juba.

The group rejected the government’s narrative that the surge in violence since March 2025, the most significant since signing of the revitalized agreement in September 2018, was sparked solely by clashes in Nasir, accusing the administration instead of a long-term plan to dismantle the peace process.

“As the war for genuine peace and freedom for all suffering citizens continues, the SPLA-IO would like to inform all of you of [that] …….. This war was imposed on the SPLA-IO and the people of South Sudan by the SPLM-IG who do not want peace,” the statement signed by SPLA-IO spokesman Lam Paul Gabriel reads in part.

The SPLA-IO accused President Salva Kiir’s government of systematically ignoring diplomatic interventions, stating that “several calls by the region, AU and the International Community for a genuine dialogue,” the regime in Juba had “purposely ignored it and chose war over peace.”

Challenging the government’s timeline of events, the opposition force asserted that hostilities did not begin with the incident in Nasir which resulted in the death of Major General David Majur Dak.

Instead, the SPLA-IO argued that the aggression dates back to 2020, citing the removal of General Jok Riak – an army general widely cited as committed to the security arrangements provided for in the peace deal – and subsequent attacks by the South Sudan People’s Defence Forces (SSPDF) on opposition cantonment sites and training centers.

“This war didn’t start with the Nasir incident… It started right from when Gen. Jok Riak was removed in 2020,” the statement said.

The group noted that while several senior SPLA-IO officers, including a military general it identified as Simon, were killed by government forces during this period, the opposition leadership had previously “chose peace and therefore, compromised.”

However, the SPLA-IO alleges that the government has now escalated its military strategy, claiming that the current army chief in Juba was appointed specifically to “take the war against the SPLA-IO to the next level,” alleging that promises of vengeance were publicly made by senior officials—including Defense Minister Chol Thon and former Vice President Benjamin Bol Mel—during the funeral of the late Majur Dak.

“This revenge was clearly seen when innocent civilians were bombarded in Nasir, Ulang etc. using the SPLA-IO as a cover,” the statement added.

Accusing the government of exploiting ethnic divisions to fuel the war, the SPLA-IO urged civilians and soldiers alike to see through the “tribal rhetoric.”

“The SPLA-IO calls upon all the people of South Sudan not to be blindfolded and misled by the regime that is sending mothers to fight, that is bombarding civilians because they hail from a particular region or tribe,” Gabriel wrote.

Leveraging the shared history of soldiers who trained together during the stalled unification process, the opposition issued a direct plea to the rank-and-file of the national army.

“The SPLA-IO is hereby calling upon the patriotic SSPDF to join in this struggle for a better South Sudan than being forced to fight for a course that only increases the suffering of our citizens,” the statement said.

To operationalize this call, the group announced that “communication lines are opened at all levels,” from county bases to the General Headquarters, promising that joint efforts could “shorten this war.”

The appeal for defections comes as the security landscape in South Sudan deteriorates rapidly. Fighting has flared recently in Jonglei, Unity, and Upper Nile states, threatening to unravel the fragile 2018 peace agreement that ended a five-year civil war.

In Jonglei state, SPLA-IO forces last week claimed the capture of the strategic town of Pajut, which lies along the road to the state capital Bor, about 170 kilometers to the north, a move that prompted the government to rush reinforcements to defend the state capital.

The escalating violence has drawn heightened international concern. The African Union’s Peace and Security Council (AUPSC) is expected to discuss the crisis in South Sudan this week, seeking to salvage the peace deal.

Meanwhile, the United Nations Commission on Human Rights in South Sudan has issued warnings against violence targeting civilians, urging all parties to respect international humanitarian law.