“The government is here in Juba”: MP slams armed rebellions targeting civilians

JUBA – The First Deputy Speaker of the National Assembly, Ambrose Lomin, has strongly condemned armed rebellions that target innocent civilians and questioned the credibility of opposition groups that claim to pursue political power while subjecting their own communities to violence and suffering.

“If I am from Juba, I should not go to Juba land and kill my people. If I am Nuer, I should not go to Nuer land and kill Nuer civilians. If I am Dinka, I should not go to Dinka land and kill my own people. The government is here in Juba,” Lomin said on Monday during the reception ceremony for the newly appointed Minister of Mining, Lasuba Ludoru Wongo.

He added that such violence undermines the legitimacy of rebellion and justifies interim leaders remaining in the capital rather than returning to communities affected by conflict.

Meanwhile, the Minister of Livestock and Fisheries, Onyoti Adigo, criticized divisions within the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement–in Opposition (SPLM-IO), highlighting the fragmentation into multiple factions with differing views on peace.

He pointed to Machar’s faction, a faction led by a self-styled interim chairperson, Stephen Par Kuol, and a faction he accused of mobilizing for renewed conflict, hinting at Oyet Nathaniel Pierino, the former First Deputy Speaker of the Transitional National Legislative Assembly.

“There is another group headed by a former deputy speaker who has declared war against the people of South Sudan. This is unacceptable; such actions undermine the peace agreement and contradict the position of SPLM-IO leader Dr. Riek Machar, who does not support a return to armed conflict.

“Even Dr. Riek Machar is not for war. How can someone declare war on behalf of a chairman who does not support war?”

He accused the faction of collaborating with non-signatories to the peace agreement, describing these actions as contrary to national interests.

“Nobody will stand with those who are enemies of peace. We are for peace,” he said, while commending other opposition groups that have rejected violence and noting their contribution to national stability.