South Sudan – 19 August 2016

Riek Machar flees S Sudan, ‘in care’ of DRC authorities

UN spokesman says Machar is in the care of authorities in the Democratic Republic of Congo after fleeing South Sudan.

South Sudan’s former vice president and opposition leader Riek Machar “is in the care” of the authorities in the neighbouring Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), the United Nations has said, several weeks after he withdrew from the capital Juba during fierce fighting with government troops.

The news on Thursday came after a statement by the leadership of the SPLA in Opposition party said Machar had left South Sudan on Wednesday to a “safe country within the region”, without giving any further details on his exact whereabouts.

Aljazeera

South Sudan army denies killing county commissioner allied to Machar

South Sudanese national army, known as the Sudan People’s liberation Army (SPLA), has denied any connection to the death of up to 46 people, including Commissioner of Mayendit county in Unity region. 30 others were injured in an attack.

“The SPLA forces in the area have nothing to do with these allegations. We heard about them but when we contacted our forces and verified, we found out they were not a party to that incident. It was just a smear campaign by anti-peace elements and those who would like to tarnish the image of the SPLA for political reasons,” said SPLA spokesperson, Brigadier General Lul Ruai Koang when reached to comment on the development on Thursday.

Sudan Tribune