A prominent spiritual leader in South Sudan’s Jonglei State has called off a planned military campaign and sent a delegation for talks with the government, a local official said, a move that appears to have averted a major clash in Upper Nile State.
Prophet Makuach Tut, a Nuer spiritual figure who commands the White Army militia in Ayod County, had been mobilizing forces throughout September. Local authorities and residents in Pigi County fled their homes, fearing an imminent attack aimed at crossing the Nile River to attack the strategic city of Malakal.
The offensive was intended to pressure the national government to release suspended First Vice President Riek Machar and other opposition figures, who have been detained in the capital, Juba, since March.
However, Ayod County Commissioner James Chuol Jiek told Radio Tamazuj on Sunday that Prophet Makuach had abandoned his military posture and agreed to dialogue with the state government. He pointed out that the spiritual leader has dispatched a delegation to hold talks with county authorities in Ayod.
“On 27 September, Makuach Tut returned to his residence in Pajiek Payam from Pigi where his forces were poised to attack Malakal,” Chuol said. “Makuach has accepted our appeal for dialogue, and his peace delegation is now with me in Ayod town.”
The commissioner praised the decision, saying it had saved thousands of lives.
“He realized that war comes with destruction and that there would be no safe place in Ayod in the aftermath of war,” Chuol said. “As a government, we are ready to dialogue.”
The White Army, a loose collection of Nuer youth militias, has been a powerful and often unpredictable force in South Sudan’s cycles of conflict. Makuach is aligned with the White Army.
Civil society groups welcomed the de-escalation.
Ter Manyang, executive director of the Center for Peace and Advocacy, described Makuach’s shift as a “peace gesture” and urged for genuine negotiations both sides.
“When Makuach started his campaign, our call was that there should be dialogue,” Manyang said. “We are happy that both sides have accepted dialogue, and it should be a genuine one.”
He also called for an end to inter-communal conflicts between Lou Nuer and Gawaar Nuer youth, which he said were ignited by Makuach’s initial mobilization.
South Sudan, the world’s youngest nation, has been struggling to implement a fragile peace agreement signed in 2018 to end a five-year civil war that left nearly 400,000 people dead. The continued detention of key opposition leaders like Machar has been a major point of contention, threatening to derail the country’s shaky transition.