The disputed border line between Uganda and South Sudan. |File Image|.
Ugandan Armed Forces (Uganda People’s Defence Forces) Infantry Division took into custody three soldiers belonging to South Sudan People’s Defence Forces (SSPDF) after the trio allegedly crossed the international boundary, inside Uganda’s territory.
According to South Sudan’s soldiers on the ground, three of their colleagues were on 26 June 2024 arrested by Ugandan troops in Owinykibul, southeast of South Sudan’s vicinity bordering Uganda’s Lamwo District.
Uganda’s army confirmed to Eye Radio it was detaining three armed South Sudan soldiers for allegedly crossing into Uganda without border crossing permits.
SSPDF Spokesperson, Maj. Gen. Lul Ruai Koang confirmed the incident to the media but asserted that the circumstances that led to their arrest were not clear.
Koang disclosed that the Chief of Defence of SSPDF, Lt. Gen. Santino Deng Wol wrote to his Ugandan counterpart, requesting the release of detained soldiers, a request that seems not bearing fruit.
The Uganda’s Public Information Officer, Capt. Favorite Rugumayo claimed that the three South Sudan soldiers violated Uganda’s territory, stressing that the soldiers would be tried in Uganda’s military court for their alleged intrusion.
He, however, said since the two countries enjoy cordial diplomatic ties, a political window could be utilized to secure the release of the three soldiers.
Gen. Santino Deng Wol devised a soft strategy to negotiate with his Ugandan counterpart over the release of three soldiers.
Lul Ruai said the army leadership resolved to form a committee to negotiate with the leadership of UPDF to secure the release of the soldiers.
“So, while we are waiting for a long-term solution to this, the delegation will be sent to Uganda to meet UPDF so that we continue coexisting peacefully while a long-term political solution is being worked out,” Koang told the local newspaper in Juba.
He disclosed that Gen. Santino wrote to his UPDF counterpart, Gen. Muhoozi Kainerugaba requesting the release of the three soldiers.
Koang said that they have started engagement with a joint high-level committee of representatives from the two sides in Gulu to tackle border-related issues which resulted in the arrest of the SSPDF soldiers.
“The other medium-term solution is the committee that will be formed, and the other one short-term measure is that we keep on engaging the command of the UPDF Infantry Division in Gulu so that they in turn instruct their commanding officers along the border points to maintain a friendly behavior towards our soldiers,” he said.
It is not the first time the Ugandan forces have arrested SSPDF soldiers along the border.
Following the 2013 and 2016 conflicts, South Sudan and Uganda inked a joint military agreement allowing the soldiers in the two countries to work together to tackle the security challenges in their region.
At the onset of the conflict in South Sudan in 2016, Uganda deployed thousands of UPDF troops to fight alongside the SSPDF against the forces designated as rebels against South Sudan’s regime.
Despite the military treaty, border skirmishes between Uganda and South Sudan have been reported in the previous years claiming the lives of a dozen soldiers. The latest was in 2020 were the UPDF soldiers killed several South Sudan soldiers allegedly at the Fitina Mbaya border area.
