A total of 1,570 White Army militiamen, under the overall command of Prophet Makuach Tut, a Nuer spiritual leader, have arrived in Ayod Town, Jonglei State, for integration into the South Sudan People’s Defense Forces (SSPDF).
The forces, led by spiritual leader Jal Chak Jal, arrived days after Makuach accepted dialogue and dispatched a delegation for talks with the government.
Prophet Chak told Radio Tamazuj on Tuesday that he led the fighters to the Ayod County headquarters, where they have camped since October 8, in commitment to dialogue with the government. He declared that war was over and that Makuach Tut, their senior spiritual leader, was preparing to join them in Ayod Town.
“I came with our youth to Ayod Town,” he declared. “We are ready for peace, and there is no more war.”
Chak said war has taken a huge toll on the local population and challenged the government to commit to serving the people.
“We are suffering as is our local population. Makuach Tut is preparing to join us in Ayod Town,” he stated. “There is no more war, but peace. Through peace, we believe the government will see the suffering of our people.”
For his part, James Chuol Jiek, the Ayod County commissioner, confirmed he had welcomed thousands of armed White Army fighters.
“These forces are 1,570 in number. They arrived on October 8 armed with weapons like AK-47s and RPGs. They realized that there is a need to dialogue,” he said.
In a separate statement on Tuesday, SPLA-IO spokesman Col. Lam Paul Gabriel dismissed reports claiming that SPLA-IO soldiers and youth had defected to the ruling SPLM party in Ayod County.
He said what is happening in Ayod is an attempt by the SPLM to mobilize youth from the Gawar Nuer community by offering them ammunition to retaliate against the Lou Nuer community following a recent cattle raid.
“These youth were then forced to appear before SSBC camera crews in Ayod as defectors,” Lam said, adding that the individuals had since returned safely to their homes.
Lam also stressed that the SPLA-IO does not recruit or control youth unless they voluntarily join the movement, and accused the SPLM of “grouping innocent youth into political parties without their consent.”
Civil society activists welcomed dialogue between the government and armed groups in recent statements.
Ter Manyang, the executive director of the Center for Peace and Advocacy, said Makuach’s decision to dialogue was a peace gesture and urged for genuine engagement.
“As a civil society, when Makuach started his campaign, our call was that there should be dialogue. We are happy that both sides have accepted dialogue, and it should be a genuine one,” he stated. “Again, we are calling an end to the ongoing conflict between the Lou Nuer and Gawar youth. These conflicts were generated following Makuach’s mobilization of youth to fight the government.”