By William Madouk
A Member of Parliament in the national parliament has urged the Minister of Defense and Veteran Affairs to restore peace in Nasir County of Upper Nile State as there have been renewed clashes between the army and civilians.
Legislator Gatwech Lam Chuol, who represents Nasir County on the SPLM-IO ticket, stated that a conflict erupted between the South Sudan People’s Defense Forces and civilians on Tuesday morning.
“I want to bring to the attention of this August House, that this morning, at 3:00 am fighting erupted in Nasir between SSPDF and the civilians,” Chuol narrated.
He said the situation in the area is still tense, adding that the civilian-army relationship is deteriorating.
“There are causalities in Nasir and now the situation is still very tense,” he noted.
“Now, this is the second time that the fighting erupted between SSPDF and the civilians and I think the relationship between the community is actually deteriorating,” he continued.
The lawmaker also appealed to Minister of Defense, Chol Thon Balok to take swift action and restore peace in the area.
“Therefore, I am urging the Minister of Defense in absentia that they have to take this very seriously,” Choul appealed.
“So, we are appealing to the security sector that they have to take that seriously such that they maintain peace in Nasir County because this SSPDF forces has been there for almost nine or twenty years.”
In response, Speaker Rt. Jemma Nunu Kumba said the information is noted and directed the specialised committee on defense to follow up with the Ministry of Defense and Veteran Affairs.
In February, fighting between the army and civilians led to the killing of one person and two others injured while fishing in the Torjuoch River.
On several occasions, the Community Empowerment for Progressive Organisation (CEPO) condemned the continued fighting between civilians and the South Sudan People’s Defence Forces (SSPDF) in Upper Nile State.