South Sudan’s army has retaken control of the key town of Nasir in Upper Nile state, several months after it was captured by the Nuer-led White Army militia. The development follows a period of intensified clashes that worsened the country’s ongoing political tensions and led to the house arrest of First Vice President Riek Machar.
President Salva Kiir and Machar have maintained a delicate power-sharing arrangement since signing a peace agreement in 2018, which ended a brutal civil war between their respective factions. That conflict resulted in the deaths of hundreds of thousands.
Machar was placed under house arrest earlier this year amid accusations that he supported the White Army and encouraged rebellion. His detention has sparked concern among international observers who fear a resurgence of ethnically motivated violence.
Both the South Sudanese army and the White Army confirmed the recapture of Nasir on Sunday, saying it occurred without resistance. “We were just taking a tactical withdrawal,” said White Army spokesperson Honson Chuol James, who noted that 17 people were killed during heavy bombardment in the nearby village of Thuluc.
Military spokesperson Lul Ruai Koang said aerial surveillance had helped government forces detect and avoid an ambush in Thuluc. “They were spotted while regrouping and were targeted with aerial fire, causing them to disperse,” he explained.
The operation comes as neighbouring countries step up their involvement in South Sudan’s security crisis. Earlier this month, Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni visited Kiir, following the deployment of Ugandan troops to help stabilise the capital, Juba. Uganda’s military chief, Muhoozi Kainerugaba—Museveni’s son—claimed their forces had killed 1,500 White Army fighters, a group that had fought alongside Machar during the civil war.
Meanwhile, internal divisions appear to be surfacing within Machar’s SPLM-IO party. A faction recently declared it had temporarily replaced him as chairman, although the party’s military wing reaffirmed its support for Machar despite his current detention.
