By Matik Kueth
The Commissioner’s office in Nasir County, Upper Nile State, has been completely destroyed following intense fighting between armed youth and the South Sudan People’s Defense Forces (SSPDF). The clashes erupted in Nasir town on Wednesday, resulting in heavy casualties.
According to reports, 17 people were killed during the fighting, including three armed youths, a woman, and 13 soldiers from both sides. An additional 14 people were injured in the violence, which caused widespread damage to the area.
Nasir County Commissioner James Gatluak Lew confirmed in an interview with King News on Friday that the county’s offices were severely damaged during the clashes. He added that the county headquarters had been bombarded.
Commissioner Lew alleged that the SSPDF had been preparing for the attack in advance, claiming they had stationed forces in three different parts of Nasir County before gaining access to the market
“What happened yesterday? There was an attack at 3 p.m. while I was also in the office. And it was planned by the SSPDF to come and attack the town. Of course, I think they made it in the morning. And they also did the deployment in three different directions,” Gatluak said.
“They have the first deployment direct to the northwest, and then the other one to the Nasir south, that was directly coming from the military barrack to the north. Then it was a good deployment. I was in the office, and at 3 p.m., the person who started the fighting came to the town,” he explained.
Lew explained that the clash was triggered when a soldier entered the market in Nasir town and fired a shot, signaling his comrades to initiate the attack.
“He came directly to the market. And then the people there thought that the person is coming to access the market to buy some goods and also go back. What happened when he reached, he fired a bullet on air. And then eventually I came out from the office, because I heard my office is close to the market,” he stated.
He noted that, “In the barrack itself, the barrack itself, they were bombarding the areas. But they would direct the bombardment to the Nasir south.”
He explained that he attempted to contact the military barracks commander in Nasir to ask why the town was being shelled, but their conversation was abruptly cut off.
“While he was trying to talk to the soldiers before we cut the call, then from the other shelling fell on my office, they now sent me to my office. Then they called me to the front of the office while I was also outside. And the offices, my office, the office of director, executive director, the office of police commissioner, the office of paramount chief, they were at the same row as the other directors. Then three shellings fell on our offices,” he lamented.
However, when reached by King News, SSPDF spokesperson Maj. Gen. Lul Ruai denied the allegations. He claimed the incident was triggered by a domestic dispute, stating that a married woman had left her home to live with a soldier stationed at the SSPDF barracks.
According to Maj. Gen. Ruai, the soldier, was brought before a local court after the woman’s husband discovered the affair, and legal proceedings were initiated. He added that he was not aware of how the court eventually resolved the matter.
Maj. Gen. Lul Ruai Koang, SSPDF’s Spokesperson [Photo – Courtesy]
“He initiated a legal process, and the accused complied. When he went and appeared before the local authority, and the local authority made deliberations but we do not know what were their party which angered. May be some elements within the aggrieved party. So, now, the ball is in the courtyard of the local authority that went and handled the case,” he emphasized.
Maj. Gen. Lul Ruai noted that the case had political undertones, pointing out that the man accused of infidelity, along with his two bodyguards, had been killed by unknown assailants.
He said during the clashes, SSPDF forces responded to the initial gunfire by rushing to the scene of the ambush, only to be caught in another attack. The escalating violence in Nasir between armed youth and the SSPDF has been linked to the ongoing security arrangement, which calls for the unification of security forces.
Tensions between the SSPDF and the armed youth have been simmering since July 2024, when an SSPDF soldier was shot and killed by an armed youth while fishing by the river. The assailant was never identified, leaving the case unresolved.
Maj. Gen. Ruai added that the recent fighting may be connected to this earlier incident, as both sides have struggled to understand each other, and the armed youth remain just as heavily armed as the soldiers.