The opposition SPLA-IO said Saturday it has captured 23 prisoners of war, including senior officers and women, following fighting in Pajut area of Jonglei state.
SPLA-IO Brig. Gen. Marial Gatluak told the media that the captives include a brigadier from the national police service and a colonel from the South Sudan People’s Defense Forces (SSPDF). He said the prisoners were captured after their forces took control of Pajut, a payam in Duk County near Uror County.
“The prisoners are safe and are being treated in accordance with the law,” Gatluak said, adding that the SPLA-IO’s fight is against the government and not civilians.
Gatluak identified the captured SSPDF colonel as Tut Teny Pan.
He urged families of those captured not to panic, saying that anyone not killed in the fighting remains alive in SPLA-IO custody.
Gatluak also called on Lou Nuer spiritual leader Dak Kueth, who he said has taken refuge in Duk County, to return to Uror County and allow youth aligned with him to go back to their home areas.
One of the captured police officers, Brig. Deng Jok Dut of the government’s joint operations forces, said he was unharmed and thanked SPLA-IO fighters for sparing his life.
“Some people say the SPLA-IO kills people, but that is not true,” Deng said in a recorded statement. “When they captured me, they gave me food and water.”
Another captive, Second Lt. Sudan Mawich of the National Security Service (NSS), said he was captured after fleeing into nearby bushes during the fighting. He said all detainees were safe and had not been mistreated.
“We are all alive. Nobody was tortured and everything is fine,” Mawich said.
Col. Tut Teny said he serves with SSPDF Division 8 in Yuai. He said he was wounded during Friday’s fighting in Pajut and later captured by SPLA-IO forces.
“I am now with the SPLA-IO and I am wounded,” he said. “My message is that our country needs peace and development. There is no tribalism in this conflict; it is between two groups who differ on how the country should be governed.”
The capture of the prisoners followed clashes early Friday between the SSPDF and SPLA-IO forces in Pajut, which lies between Uror and Duk counties in Jonglei state.
The SPLA-IO announced Friday that it had taken control of Pajut. The Kit-Gang faction led by Gen. Simon Gatwech told Radio Tamazuj that the area was seized by joint opposition forces.
Pajut had become a key gathering point for government troops after SPLA-IO forces captured Uror County from the SSPDF on Jan. 2, with some units reportedly positioning there in preparation for a counteroffensive.
The SSPDF has not yet commented on the capture of its soldiers in Pajut.