A senior security official in Upper Nile State said that government forces (SSPDF) repelled an attack by opposition fighters and a youth militia on Saturday, killing at least 48 combatants in a border town.
The clashes erupted in the Burebiey area of Nasir county in Upper Nile state, near the border with Ethiopia, according to Gen. Al Tayib Ajak, security adviser to the state’s government.
Ajak told Radio Tamazuj on Sunday that fighters from the SPLA-IO, the main opposition group, and the loosely organized Nuer youth militia known as the White Army launched the assault on government positions around 11 a.m.
“Our forces were fully prepared and repelled the attack, inflicting heavy losses on them,” Ajak said. He claimed that “at least 48 SPLA-IO and White Army fighters were killed and over 160 were injured,” while government forces sustained only five light injuries.
He said the opposition forces were forced into a retreat. “They left behind their dead and wounded and are now fleeing into nearby forests and across the river toward Ethiopia,” Ajak said.
A military source in Nasir, who spoke to Radio Tamazuj on condition of anonymity as he was not authorized to brief the media, corroborated the account of a repelled attack and estimated opposition casualties were high.
“All our forces are fine. About 36 dead bodies of the opposition fighters were found on the ground but the SSPDF forces did not go far in the bushes, because we believe more people died there,” the source said.
The military source denied reports that the opposition started shelling the government forces from the Ethiopian side, saying the shilling was from the South Sudan territory from the island area.
Ajak dismissed social media reports that the opposition had captured the area as “false” and “misleading.” He also denied that any shelling by the opposition forces had originated from the Ethiopian side of the border.
“We have no problems with Ethiopia. They are our neighbors,” he said. “The opposition forces are the ones operating near the border, and some have now crossed into Ethiopian territory.”
Radio Tamazuj could not independently verify the claims regarding casualties.
The SPLA-IO, led by suspended First Vice President Riek Machar, could not be reached for comment.
The clashes in the Burebiey area are the latest outbreak of violence amid ongoing security and political tensions in the country.
The fighting comes as suspended First Vice President Riek Machar, the opposition leader, is scheduled to appear in a court in the capital, Juba, on Monday. He and seven associates face charges including treason, murder, and crimes against humanity.
The charges are linked to an attack by the White Army militia on a military barracks in Nasir in March.
The White Army militia, composed largely of youth from the Nuer ethnic group, has a long history of involvement in conflicts.