South Sudan’s SSPDF soldiers |©ALBERT GONZALEZ FARRAN/AFP/Getty Images|
Wednesday, 3 September 2025
The South Sudan People’s Defence Forces (SSPDF) claimed the capture of two commanders of the Sudan People’s Liberation Army in Opposition (SPLA-IO), during fierce clashes in the Mathiang area of Longechuk County, Upper Nile State, on Monday, 2 September, according to Acting SSPDF Spokesperson, Col. Garang Ateny Alier.
Col. Ateny said the SSPDF soldiers successfully flushed out the SPLA-IO fighters from the Mathiang military garrison.
“Yesterday morning, around 5 am, the SPLA-IO launched an attack,” Ateny said, “but they were repelled by the SSPDF. The SSPDF is a gallant and professional national defence force that cannot be terrorised by the armed militia of the SPLA-IO.”
“They [SPLA-IO fighters] returned,” he stated, “and we managed to chase them away. When they came a third time, we captured their two commanders who were leading the attack. We are in control of Mathiang and other military barracks.”
Col. Ateny alleged that the SSPDF acted in self-defence after their base was attacked by the SPLA-IO fighters in that Monday morning assault.
“The SPLA-IO consistently violates the revitalised peace agreement; they have been attacking our positions. We are always in self-defence because we respect the revitalised peace agreement and the cessation of hostilities,” he explained to The Dawn newspaper.
Col. Lam Paul Gabriel, the spokesperson for SPLA-IO, stated that the SPLA-IO’s 5th Infantry Division launched a precise and swift attack against SSPDF forces in Mathiang, inflicting heavy casualties on both the human and material fronts.
“The SPLA-IO force then withdrew for tactical reasons after the successful operation,” Gabriel said in a statement.
Peter Ngwojo, the Minister of Information and Communication in Upper Nile State, stated that the claim that the SPLA-IO has captured Mathiang is false, adding that the clashes occurred outside Mathiang.
“It is not true. Yesterday, the SPLA-IO attempted to attack Mathiang, and the SSPDF drove them out. The fighting occurred far from Mathiang; the citizens remain in their areas, and there has been no displacement. The government is still in control of the area,” Ngwojo said.
In a statement, the SPLA-IO Spokesperson, Col. Gabriel Lam, confirmed the clashes but said their forces withdrew tactically after hitting the government soldiers hard.
Lam said the 5th Infantry Division of the SPLA-IO launched what he termed as ‘precise attack and swift attack’ in the Mathiang, Longechuk, and inflicted heavy losses to the government soldiers, both human and material.
“In a separate incident, yesterday, 01/09/2025, the SPLA-IO 5th infantry division forces in Longechuk launched a precise and swift attack against the SSPDF forces in Mathiang, inflicting heavy casualties on the enemy forces, both human and material. The SPLA-IO force then withdrew after the successful operation for a tactical reason,” Lam stated.
Col. Lam however, did not confirm or deny the claims about the capture of two SPLA-IO commanders.
