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The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation of South Sudan issued a press statement through a press conference expressing its displeasure at the Sudanese Army linking South Sudanese citizens to the Rapid Support Forces (RSF). The Ministry spokesperson, Apuk Ayuel Mayen, stated that the government regrets the comments made following the horrific and brutal massacres against innocent South Sudanese citizens in Al Jazeera State last month.
She said that a video was aired showing Sudanese General Yasser Al-Atta, one of the Sudanese Army leaders, addressing his troops from an undisclosed location, in which he claimed that South Sudanese citizens constitute 65% of the RSF. During his address, he sent contradictory messages, expressing his trust in President Salva Kiir and simultaneously accusing South Sudan of doing nothing to prevent South Sudanese from joining the RSF.
Apuk Ayuel Mayen further added that General Yasser Al-Atta acknowledged that many of those joining the RSF were opposition elements, specifically accusing the group led by General Stephen Buay, a group that is not controlled by the Government of South Sudan. Therefore, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs condemns his statement and emphasizes that South Sudanese do not make up 65% of the RSF.
She also said, “South Sudan believes that General Al-Atta, through his long experience in South Sudan, was fully aware that the Sudanese Army has a history of arming South Sudanese militias, with a special department in the Sudanese Army called the ‘Department of Popular and National Forces’ tasked with recruiting South Sudanese nationals.”
She pointed out that “when South Sudan has proven to be undefeatable through militia proxies, those militia elements continue to lurk along the borders where Sudanese Military Intelligence uses them. Some of them were even sent to distant wars, like Yemen. According to our authentic records, two groups of South Sudanese nationals were sent to Yemen by the Sudanese government: the group led by the late General Peter Gatdet Yak and General Thomas Thiel Awak. It is under these circumstances that these Khartoum-backed militia elements found themselves involved in the Sudanese war.”
The Ministry spokesperson further said that Sudan’s claim of South Sudanese constituting 65% of the RSF is a complete exaggeration.
She remarked, “In fact, many of those aforementioned South Sudanese groups continue to fight alongside the Sudanese Army. For example, Major General Thomas Thiel Awak (also known as Altom Ali Zain) from Twic County in Warrap State works in the Sudanese Military Intelligence Unit, along with General Jafour Dou Elbaid from Abyei, and Lieutenant General Ibrahim Al-Mazz Deng. We wonder why General Al-Atta fails to mention them.”
Additionally, she mentioned, “The Sudanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs issued a surprising statement on January 23, 2025, echoing General Yasser Al-Atta’s remarks and contradicting South Sudan’s statement at the recent UN Security Council Open Debate on African-Led and Development-Focused Counter-Terrorism in New York. South Sudan rejects these accusations as unfounded.”
She emphasized that the recent statement by Foreign Minister Ramadan Mohamed Abdallah Goc in New York was not intended to request intervention from the African Union and the UN in Sudan.
Apuk Ayuel Mayen concluded, “The Minister was only seeking the support of the UN Security Council to join our call for an investigation into the tragic massacre of our innocent citizens in Al-Jazirah State, to ensure transparency and prompt results for the benefit of both countries and peoples. At this juncture, we reiterate our call for the UNSC and the African Union to join our call for a credible investigation into the Wad Medani Massacre.”
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