The president of South Sudan dismisses the army chief after seven months in office
The president of South Sudan dismissed the army chief after only seven months in office and appointed a replacement.
According to a statement on state radio, South Sudan’s president, Salva Kiir, dismissed Paul Nang Majok, the army leader, after he had served for seven months and named Dau Aturjong as the new leader of Defense Forces.
However, in the notice made late Monday, Paul Nang Majok’s termination was not explained. He was in charge of the army while fighting broke out between the army and the White Army, an ethnic militia made up primarily of Nuer adolescents that precipitated the most recent political crisis in the nation. He had held the position since December.
When you are appointed or reassigned, it has long been customary to provide no explanation for your appointment or for your release. According to South Sudan army spokeswoman Lul Ruai Koang, “it is normal.”
Officially, South Sudan has been at peace since a 2018 agreement put an end to the five-year battle that claimed hundreds of thousands of lives, but violence between opposing communities still breaks out often.
Fears of a new conflict were sparked by the March house arrest of First Vice President Riek Machar.
According to Information Minister Michael Makuei, Machar’s actions in contacting his supporters and “inciting them to rebel against the government with the aim of disrupting peace so that elections are not held and South Sudan returns to war” were the reason for the arrest.
When Machar’s party clashed with the White Army in the northeastern town of Nasir in March, the government accused it of supporting the army.
