By Matik Kueth
The Sudan People’s Liberation Army-In Opposition (SPLA-IO) has released Rapid Support Forces’ (RSF) commander Maj. Gen. Jabril Tap, after more than a year in detention at an SPLA-IO base in Tong, Rubkona County, Unity State.
The commander was reportedly freed due to deteriorating health conditions and mounting pressure from his family on local authorities.
Tap was arrested on May 13, 2024, at the Sudan–South Sudan border, accused by SPLA-IO of supporting RSF operations along the contested frontier near Tong village, Rubkona.
Speaking to King Media on Monday, Kerbino Yai Pazale, SPLA-IO’s Deputy Spokesperson in Unity State, confirmed Tap’s release, noting that it was due to his health conditions.
“It’s very true, he was arrested since May last year because he was supporting the military rapid forces. At the border of Sudan and South Sudan. We decided to release him because he no longer has forces that could pose a threat or launch any attacks. He was handed over to his family and is now in Rubkona town with relatives and friends,” he stated.
However, Gen. Tap revealed that he was released on Friday through the intervention of the Governor of Unity State, after his family raised the issue with the state leadership.
“When I know that they want to take me back to Tong village. I inform my family members to go to Governor Riek Biem Top to inform him and he immediately directed the security personnel to go directly to SPLA-IO general in Tong and through the understanding they have, they released me,” he emphasized.
He said he was accused of supporting the RSF, which is currently fighting the Sudan Armed Forces (SAF) along the border.
“I was arrested in May last year because the SPLA-IO accused me of supporting Sudan’s Rapid Support Forces. I indeed supported the RSF, but I intended to help bring back South Sudanese who are stranded in Sudan. I carried out several mobilization efforts for that purpose,” he stressed.
Despite SPLA-IO’s accusations, Tap maintained he never intended to join the RSF and resisted pressure from SPLA-IO to align with Sudanese armed groups.
“SPLA-IO is telling me that they want me to join the Sudan armed forces, but I don’t want to join the Sudan armed forces,” he added.
Tap, a former SPLA-IO commander, is a known RSF figure with deep connections across the Sudan–South Sudan border, an area frequently plagued by tension, armed activity, and population displacement.
His arrest in May 2024 was seen as a flashpoint in the murky relations between South Sudan’s armed opposition groups and factions operating in war-torn Sudan, particularly near Unity State.