The South Sudan People’s Defence Forces (SSPDF), the country’s army, has been carrying out major operations against the opposition SPLA-IO in Jonglei state since January. The operations are led by senior generals under the direct supervision of the chief of defence forces, General Paul Nang Majok.
The country’s various armed forces remain divided, despite provisions in the 2018 peace agreement calling for the unification of the army as part of security sector reforms ahead of national elections.
In a series of articles, Radio Tamazuj profiles key generals now leading battles in Jonglei and other parts of the country.
Factbox: Major General Makal Kuol
Major General Michael Makal Kuol Deng is a military officer and one of the commanders currently leading the SSPDF in ongoing operations against the opposition SPLA-IO in northern Jonglei state, particularly in Lou Nuer areas, since January.
Born in 1962 to a cattle-keeping and farming Bul Nuer family in Puk Payam, Mayom County, Unity State, Makal joined a southern rebel group in Mayom County led by the late General Paulina Matip Nhial. This group had broken away from the SPLA and aligned with the Nya-Nya 2 rebel movement.
Makal did not go to school. Like many of his peers during the Sudanese civil war, he joined rebel groups fighting for the freedom of what was then southern Sudan.
Following the 1991 split in the SPLA into the SPLA-Torit faction led by the late Dr. John Garang and the SPLA-Nasir faction led by Dr. Riek Machar, Makal joined the SPLA-Nasir faction.
In September 1999, he defected from the South Sudan Independence Movement (SSIM), then led by Dr. Machar, and joined the SPLA under the late Dr. John Garang. He was immediately promoted to the rank of major and appointed SPLA commander of Sanga in Pibor Boma, Mankien Payam, Mayom County.
After the signing of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA) with the Khartoum government in 2005, Makal served as commander of Brigade 21 from 2007 to 2013, covering Mayom and Abiemnhom counties under SPLA Division 4.
Following the outbreak of civil war in late December 2013, Makal defected to the SPLA-IO led by Dr. Machar, serving as a commander until 2016, when he left Machar’s group. After fighting in July 2016 resulted in Machar being pushed out of Juba, Makal aligned himself with the SPLA-IO faction that remained in the government as a “peace wing” under General Taban Deng Gai, who was then appointed first vice president as part of the 2015 peace deal, later revitalized in 2018.
Gen. Makal has also served as deputy commander of SSPDF Division 6 (formerly joint forces) in Lakes State and as mobile force commander in Mayom County, Unity State, in early 2022.
In late December 2025, he was appointed commander of SSPDF Division 11 and deployed to the Heglig oilfields near the Sudan border to form a joint military protection force after its capture from the Sudanese army by the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF).
Following the capture of key SSPDF garrisons in Yuai, Waat, and surrounding areas by SPLA-IO forces in northern Jonglei, General Makal was redeployed to the region to jointly command SSPDF forces in ongoing operations against SPLA-IO in Lou Nuer areas alongside other SSPDF commanders.