The government-appointed commissioner of Akobo County in Jonglei State, James Kueth Makuach, is feared dead after fighting between government forces and the opposition Sudan People’s Liberation Army in Opposition (SPLA-IO) in the remote area of Walgak on Sunday, although state authorities said his whereabouts remain unknown.
John Wiyual Lul, the SPLM-IO appointed commissioner of Akobo County, told Radio Tamazuj that SPLA-IO fighters attacked and briefly overran Walgak at about 6 a.m. before withdrawing after government reinforcements arrived from the nearby town of Waat.
He said the government-appointed commissioner of Akobo County, James Kueth Makuach, was killed along with several officials on Sunday during fighting between government forces and the opposition Sudan People’s Liberation Army in-Opposition (SPLA-IO) in the remote area of Walgak.
“Our forces attacked and overran Walgak this morning before making a tactical withdrawal,” Wiyual said. “Commissioner James Kueth Makuach and his executive director, Tut Chai Riek, were killed. An SSPDF brigadier, Chuol Pathot, and another officer, Gai Makuach Pan, were also found dead.”
He said several soldiers were also killed during the fighting but could not provide casualty figures because opposition forces withdrew shortly after the assault.
“Several bodies were left behind. Government reinforcements later arrived from Waat, recovered the dead and retook control of Walgak. Our forces remain around the area,” he said.
However, Jonglei State Deputy Governor Wilson Awuol Gajang told Radio Tamazuj that the commissioner’s whereabouts remain unknown after SPLA-IO forces launched an early morning attack targeting his residence in Akobo West, in the Walgak area.
“There is fighting, but we have not yet gathered the details of the incident. The SPLA-IO forces launched an attack on the residence of the commissioner this morning. The whereabouts of the commissioner have not been confirmed yet. The IO forces have been dislodged,” Gajang said.
He added that government forces repulsed the attackers, although the number of casualties had not yet been confirmed.
Deng Bol Wuol, a member of the Jonglei State Legislative Assembly, confirmed the fighting but said details of the casualties remained unclear.
“There was fighting this morning in Walgak after an attack by the SPLA-IO,” he said. “Government reinforcements from Waat later retook the area, but I cannot confirm the number of those killed from the government side.”
Kueth defected from the opposition Sudan People’s Liberation Movement in Opposition (SPLM-IO) to the ruling Sudan People’s Liberation Movement (SPLM) in April.
He had been removed as Akobo commissioner by the SPLM-IO’s acting leadership on Jan. 16 and replaced by John Wiyual Lul. After initially refusing to step down, Kueth left office on Jan. 21 following mediation by local leaders.
Following a government military offensive in March, authorities reappointed Kueth as Akobo commissioner, replacing Wiyual, who remained loyal to the SPLM-IO under acting chairman Oyet Nathaniel Pierino. Under the 2018 peace agreement, the Akobo commissioner position is allocated to the SPLM-IO.
Bol Deng Bol, chairperson of the Jonglei Civil Society Network, said the renewed fighting underscored the need for inclusive political dialogue ahead of South Sudan’s planned December elections.
“Political groups, including the SPLM-IO, have called for dialogue that includes their detained leader, Dr. Riek Machar,” he said. “As civil society, we believe those calls should be taken seriously because continued exclusion risks more violence.”
Akobo has experienced repeated clashes between the South Sudan People’s Defence Forces (SSPDF) and the SPLA-IO since March. Government forces briefly captured the town before opposition fighters retook it in mid-April, displacing thousands of civilians, many of whom have only recently begun returning home.
The latest fighting in the western area of Walgak came days after hundreds of residents in Akobo staged a peaceful protest demanding the release of humanitarian cash assistance they said had been delayed in Juba.
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