Top S. Sudanese army general goes missing amid rising tensions in Juba
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December 7, 2014 (JUBA) - A high-ranking general in the South Sudanese army
(SPLA) has remained unreachable for the past two days amid rising tensions
and ongoing uncertainties in the capital, Juba.
The circumstances under which Lieutenant General Thomas Cirilo went missing
remain unclear and neither the government nor the leadership of the army has
been able to make a public statement on the matter.
Security sources say they have made several attempts to make contact without
success.
"Nobody knows where he is. People have gone to his residence several times
and talked with the family members to find out whether there were family
issues, but the family insists that they have never had a discussion over
any issue, apart from normal talking. The family members and colleagues have
unsuccessfully been trying his numbers, but he remains unreachable, which is
now the cause of concern to everybody," a security source said.
Meanwhile, multiple sources from Eastern Equatoria's border town of Nimule
told Sudan Tribune on Saturday that mounting tensions in the region had
forced about 60 to 70% of the population to cross the border to Uganda,
while others had come to Juba.
The majority of those leaving are believed to be from the Dinka tribe, to
which president Salva Kiir hails, with only about 10% of the population
remaining in the area.
"[The] security situation in Nimule is not as before. Nimule is almost a
ghost town. There has been panic everywhere without a single bullet fired.
People there are in fear that a fight could break out [at] anytime," a
senior member of the governing Sudan People's Liberation Movement (SPLM)
from the area told Sudan Tribune.
"People are calling us here in Juba to find out what is happening because
youth are deserting. When we ask the government, we are told there is
nothing; everything is normal. But in reality, things are not normal. When
local people refuse to go to town, it means there is something and the
government should investigate and find out what is happening," he added.
The border between Uganda and Nimule has reportedly been closed, with the
government deploying soldiers to the area to stop people leaving.
"They tried to stop people, especially the locals (Madi) from crossing into
Uganda. In fact, the border between the two countries is [now] closed," the
government official said.
Military sources say the government had moved its troops into the area to
launch an operation against Martin Kenyi and his group, who are said to have
established a base around Nimule.
This has sparked fears among the local population of an outbreak of
violence.
Sources say Kenyi intends to disrupt traffic between Juba and Kampala, with
the aim of blocking vital revenues and essential supplies from reaching
South Sudan.
Kenyi was commander of the Equatoria Defence Force, the military wing of a
political group associated with Theophilus Ochan Loti, who broke away from
the Sudan People's Liberation Movement/Army (SPLM/A) at the height of the
north-south civil war between 1983 and 2005.
Kenyi later became a member of the South Sudan Defence Force (SSDF), a group
of armed forces operating in southern Sudan, aligned with the Sudanese
government against the SPLM/A.
Last month, the SPLA claimed Kenyi was involved in a plot to form a
rebellion parallel to that of the armed opposition led by the country's
former vice-president, Riek Machar.
The army claimed the group, comprising of disgruntled politicians and former
militia, had appointed Kenyi as the overall commander, with its objective to
fight for the separation of the Equatoria region from South Sudan.
The South Sudanese government has been locked in an armed struggle with
pro-Machar rebel forces since a political feud within the SPLM turned
violent last December.
The conflict initially erupted in the capital, Juba, before quickly spread
to other areas, although Eastern Equatoria has remained largely unaffected.