The military of South Sudan retakes a crucial town from White Army militants

The army of South Sudan claimed to have retaken a strategic town in Upper Nile state that it had lost to an ethnic Nuer militia in March after battles that resulted in First Vice President Riek Machar’s imprisonment and a deteriorating political situation.

Since a 2018 peace agreement put an end to a civil conflict between fighters loyal to the two men that claimed hundreds of thousands of lives, President Salva Kiir has overseen an unstable power-sharing government with Machar.

International concerns about a resurgence of ethnic strife have been stoked by Machar’s house imprisonment for allegedly supporting the White Army militia in Upper Nile in an attempt to incite a rebellion.

According to representatives of the White Army and military, which Machar’s party disputes support for, Nasir town was retaken peacefully on Sunday.

“We were just taking a tactical withdrawal,” White Army spokesperson Honson Chuol James stated, adding that the adjoining village of Thuluc was heavily bombarded, killing 17 people.

According to Army spokeswoman Lul Ruai Koang, close air support helped the forces avert an ambush near Thuluc.

“They were spotted when they were grouping, and they were fired on, and then they dispersed,” said Koang.

In the midst of the increased political tensions, Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni traveled to Kiir earlier this month after sending his soldiers to assist in securing Juba, the capital of South Sudan.

According to Museveni’s son and Uganda’s military chief, Muhoozi Kainerugaba, his forces have subsequently slain 1,500 members of the White Army, which fought alongside Machar’s soldiers throughout the civil war.

Machar’s SPLM-IO party seemed to be beginning to fall apart earlier this month. While the armed wing claimed to still be faithful to their imprisoned leader, another section said that it had temporarily replaced Machar as party chairman.