Sudan on Sunday arrested key rebel officers and handed them to South Sudanese. Their group confirmed the arrest saying it was coordinated between the security services in the two countries.
Three senior military officers, identified as Major Nyuon Garang Kuol, Major General Pur Aruop Kuol, and Brigadier General Gatluak Majiok Liey were arrested on Sunday by members of Sudan’s Rapid Support Force (RSF) in the Al-Fula town of West Kordofan in Sudan.
Family members and multiple sources with direct knowledge told Sudan Tribune on Sunday the officers were visiting family members living in Sudan and did not possess any military equipment or weapons.
A rebel group, calling itself South Sudan People’s Liberation Movement/Army (SSPM/A) issued a statement confirming the incident had taken place and said the officers arrested belong to the group.
The SSPM condemned Sudan’s decision, saying arresting and handing them over to South Sudan was a violation of humanitarian and international law.
“South Sudan People’s Liberation Movement/Army condemns the arrest of its senior SSPM/A senior officers, who were arrested on 06/08/2022 in Fula, Sudan by Sudan Rapid Support Force in coordination with south Sudan national security adviser Tut Kew Gatluak who has bribed colonel Taj Yusif of Sudan Rapid Support Force to kidnap our officers who went to visit their families in Fula and to hand them over to Juba National Security adviser Tut Gatluak in possible revenge for the death of his brother, the commissioner of Mayom who was killed in the counter-attack on Mayom on 21/07/2022. This is against the international and humanitarian laws,” said the statement extended to Sudan Tribune.
The circumstances under which the arrests were made are still unclear and neither Juba nor Khartoum has issued statements regarding the incident.
A video footage Sudan Tribune obtained on Sunday showed three people with hands tied on their backs seated in the middle of a military vehicle belonging to RSF.
South Sudan and Sudan signed a cooperation agreement in 2012, committing the two countries not to host, train, arm, and use allow armed and non-armed political dissident groups with an objective to change the government in either country by violent means. The agreement, signed after South Sudan’s cessation from Sudan in 2011, provides for various principles to guide relations between the two nations, in which both countries commit themselves to non-aggression and cooperation.
The agreement demands the two sides agreed to “respect each other’s sovereignty, the exclusive right over their natural resources and territorial integrity” and to “refrain from facilitating or launching any attack, including aerial bombardment. It established a monitoring mechanism that allows either side to lodge complaints if a border dispute erupts. Nonetheless, officials from both sides have traded accusations in which they attempted to depict one as the victim and the other as the aggressor.
Source: Sudan Tribune