A personal dispute between officers erupted into a deadly clash between rival factions of a unified security force in the disputed Abyei region, leaving at least 14 soldiers dead and prompting a partial withdrawal of troops, military officials said Wednesday.
The fighting broke out Tuesday afternoon in the village of Athony, outside the secure perimeter known as the Abyei Box. The violence involved members of the South Sudan People’s Defence Forces (SSPDF) and the Sudan People’s Liberation Army in Opposition (SPLA-IO), who had been integrated into a single VIP protection force.
South Sudanese army spokesman Maj. Gen. Lul Ruai Koang said the incident was not politically motivated but stemmed from a “misunderstanding” between two officers. He presented conflicting accounts of the trigger, stating it may have been an argument at a tea place or a dispute over a woman.
“The first version says, it was a love triangle. The two men were reported to be in an affair with one lady,” Lul told a press conference in Juba. “The officer from SPLA-IO opened fire on the SSPDF captain, killing him on the spot, and then their bodyguards opened fire on each other.”
Lul said the clash spread from a market to a checkpoint and barracks, resulting in the deaths of 14 servicemen—eight from the SSPDF and six from the SPLA-IO. He added that he had received a report of one civilian killed in the crossfire, though his official military report listed only 14 soldiers wounded.
A local commander, Lt. Gen. Peter Bawa Jamus, provided a similar account to Radio Tamazuj, identifying the officers as a 2nd Lieutenant and a captain. He said the shooting began after the lieutenant found the captain speaking with his wife.
“He didn’t take patience and started shooting. He killed the captain on the spot, and he was also killed,” Jamus said, putting the death toll at 15.
In the aftermath, the situation in Athony has calmed, but the unity of the force was fractured. Jamus stated that more than 400 former SPLA-IO soldiers, part of the unified unit, deserted their positions in several villages and moved north toward the Abyei Administrative Area under the command of Col. James Gatjiek Koang.
Yohana Akol Ngor, the Abyei Special Administrative Area’s information minister, confirmed that SPLA-IO forces had withdrawn from the area following the clashes. He said the United Nations Interim Security Force for Abyei (UNISFA) intervened to care for family members left behind and evacuated civilians from the fighting zone.
Medical officials reported treating the wounded.
Daniel Mathiang Malek, a clinical officer at Mayen Abun Hospital, told Radio Tamazuj that five wounded soldiers were received, with three succumbing to their injuries overnight. Four other wounded servicemen were being treated at Rua Lake St. Teresa Hospital in the Abyei area, according to Lul.
Lul described the incident as the first major clash within the VIP protection force since its formation following the 2018 peace agreement.
The clashes between the rival factions come amid political and security tensions in South Sudan.
The implementation of the 2018 peace agreement faces challenges, complicated by the legal and political status of key partner Riek Machar, who leads the opposition SPLM/A-IO.
Machar was arrested in March, later suspended from his position as First Vice President, and is now facing proceedings in a special court in Juba. He is accused of having a role in violence that occurred in Nasir in March 2025.