By William Madouk
At least fourteen Unified VIP protection personnel have died in a clash in the Athony area of Abyei Special Administrative Area, said South Sudan People’s Defense Forces (SSPDF), Spokesperson of Maj Gen Lul Ruai Koang.
In a press conference, Ruai said the fight allegedly happened after a quarrel between two soldiers.
“So, on the 6th, the Unified Forces, the VIP Protection Force, and some elements from both components had a misunderstanding at the market. It involved two officers, one from SSPDF, the other from SPLA-IO,” he said.
“There are two conflicting versions, one version says it was purely a personal misunderstanding between the two officers at the tea place. They differed … the other version says it was a love triangle. The two men were reported to be in an affair with one lady, so they started quarreling and one opened fire,” Ruai added.
According to an army spokesman, an SPLA-IO officer opened fire on his SSPDF captain colleague, and their bodyguards returned fire, killing both officers in the fight.
“The clashes started spreading from the market to the main checkpoint and to the main barracks,” he noted. “All in all, a total of 14 servicemen were killed. Six from SPLA-IO and eight from SSPDF. I have also received a report that one civilian was killed in crossfire.”
Bilpham cited that five servicemen were wounded, and they are currently receiving treatment at St. Teresa Hospital.
He said the confrontations between Unified VIP protection personnel in the Athony of Abyei area are not a politically driven fight.
“It appears like the conflict was not politically motivated, and for us to get to the bottom of it, of course, there is a need for further investigation to be carried out so that we know whether it was a love triangle, which appears to be the case, but I can assure you that it was not politically motivated.”
Gen. Ruai underscored that this is the first time members of the VIP security forces had clashed since the unit was founded in 2019, and they graduated.
Similarly, Yohana Akol Ngor, the Abyei Administrative Area minister of information, stated that the incident occurred on October 6 at 4:00 p.m. in Athony village.
“After clashes, the forces withdrawing from Athony left behind their immediate families and children, and the United Nations Interim Security Force in Abyei (UNISFA) intervened to take care of them,” Kiir noted.
“Finally, on behalf of the government of Abyei Administrative Area, we offer our sincere condolences to the families of those who lost their loved ones and we wish a speedy recovery to the wounded ones,” he added
Athony is an area that serves as a checkpoint in the South West of Abyei – it was designated as a buffer zone by Abyei-Twic Mission Force after the Twic-Ngok communal conflict of 2022.