The killing of James Kueth Makuach comes amid escalating tensions between President Salva Kiir’s government and opposition forces
Violence has escalated in South Sudan’s oil-rich Jonglei State after a county commissioner was assassinated during an attack blamed on opposition forces, officials in the East African nation said on Monday.
James Kueth Makuach, the government-appointed commissioner of Akobo County, was killed on Sunday when fighters from the Sudan People’s Liberation Army-in-Opposition (SPLA-IO) attacked Walgak, a remote area in Akobo West, according to government and opposition officials.
Makuach had previously been aligned with the opposition Sudan People’s Liberation Movement-in-Opposition (SPLM-IO) before defecting in April to President Salva Kiir Mayardit’s ruling Sudan People’s Liberation Movement (SPLM). His appointment by the government deepened tensions in Akobo, a strategic opposition stronghold where the 2018 peace agreement assigns the county commissioner’s post to Riek Machar’s party.
Opposition-appointed Akobo governor John Wiyual Lul said that SPLA-IO fighters briefly seized the area before withdrawing after national forces arrived from the nearby town of Waat.
“Commissioner James Kueth Makuach and his executive director, Tut Chai Riek, were killed,” Lul told broadcaster Radio Tamazuj.
The fighting has left an unknown number of people dead, with senior military personnel reportedly among the casualties, including army Gen. Chuol Pathol and another officer, Gai Makuach Pan.
The ruling SPLM has condemned the “brutal killing” of the county commissioner. The party’s Secretary-General, Akol Paul Kordit, urged the opposition and “people who are insisting on violence, killing of their own fellow citizens as a mean of getting political power” to embrace peace through dialogue.
South Sudan broke away from Sudan in 2011 but has remained volatile after a five-year civil war erupted in 2013 over a feud between Kiir and Machar. The two leaders signed a power-sharing deal in 2018, but tensions have escalated since Machar was detained on treason charges last year.
On Monday, the Reconstituted Joint Monitoring and Evaluation Commission, which monitors the implementation of South Sudan’s peace deal, warned that the renewed fighting threatens the ceasefire and civilian safety.
The latest clashes come days after the United Nations Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS) withdrew peacekeepers from its temporary base in Akobo, following months of deployment to protect civilians.
In a statement on Wednesday marking South Sudan’s 15th Independence anniversary, UNMISS called for renewed commitment to dialogue and a peaceful, inclusive, and democratic transition.
Last month, the South Sudanese National Elections Commission announced that the country would hold its first general election on December 22, after repeatedly missing previous voting deadlines.
