SSPDF Takes Control of Border with Ethiopia

The governor of Upper Nile State, Gen. James Koang Chuol, confirmed Tuesday that the South Sudan People’s Defense Forces (SSPDF) have taken full control of areas in Nasir County near the border with Ethiopia, previously held by the White Army, a loose band of armed Nuer youths. Speaking to Radio Tamazuj, Chuol said the border areas, including the payams of Jikmir and Burebiey, were brought under SSPDF control Monday. He stated that troops from Nasir town captured the last remaining villages along the border, cutting off supply routes from Ethiopia to Akobo and Nasir…Gen. James Tongyik Wang, an opposition commander who was near the South Sudan-Ethiopia border, confirmed to Radio Tamazuj that the SSPDF controlled Burebiey and Jikmir payams and the border with Ethiopia…Conflicts in eastern parts of Upper Nile State began last year between the SSPDF and the White Army but intensified earlier this year. (Radio Tamazuj)