REVOLUTIONARY FORCES CAPTURED SPLA GARRISON IN NORTHERN UPPER NILE STATE

For Immediate Release

South Sudan Liberation Movement/Army (SSLM/A)

Mayom, South Sudan

November, 11, 2011

The liberation forces of SSLA, SSDM/A and SSDF captured SPLA military base in Northern Upper Nile on November, 10, 2011 after a fierce battle. The combined forces of SSLA, SSDA and SSDF were commanded by Maj. Gen. Duoth Lam and Brig. Gen. Yien Deang. The SPLA forces are being pursued up to now and they are in disarray running towards the South of Upper Nile State.

We therefore call up on the civilians in Upper Nile state to evacuate Renk, Maluth and Malakal towns within one week because the revolutionary forces will liberate those towns very soon. We advise all the civilians to leave these towns with immediate effect to avoid unnecessary casualties. It is the policy of revolutionary forces to warn civilians to get out of harm way before embarking on liberating towns from the occupation of corruption lords in Juba.

We also call upon civilians in Bentiu town in Unity State to evacuate in one week to avoid being caught in crossfire. We advise the UN to evacuate 15,000 Nuba refugees who have been settled near Bentiu town within a week. As the UN Security Council Resolution 1996 called upon all warring parties in the South to protect civilians, we feel that the refugees from Southern Kordofan are in harm way because they have been settled in the path to Bentiu town. There is no way to avoid harming them when the revolutionary forces of SSLA attack the town in one week time. The UN should seriously take our warning and relocate those refugees to Lakes State or Western Equatoria State. Under international law, the UNHCR has an obligation not to settle refugees in a war zone.

We seriously warn UN Representative, Hilde Johnson, not to endanger the lives of 15, 000 Nuba refugees because when the SSLA forces begin marching to Bentiu town, there is no way to control the direction of bullets and artilleries fired. SSLA has no guided missiles which could be fired with precision. There is a high probability that the refugees may get hurt when the liberation forces fight their way to Bentiu town which is heavily guarded by 10, 000 SPLA forces. The UN should not listen to lies of Juba government because they don’t have control in Unity State. The SSLA does not lie when it comes to issue of liberating the people of South Sudan from corruption. On October, 27, we warned civilians and UN personnel to leave Mayom town. The ruling clique in Juba and Unity State dismissed the warning as a mere propaganda. However, the SSLA forces captured the town in few days as it was stated in a press release. It is therefore incumbent on UN to evacuate Nuba refugees as soon as possible. The SSLA forces in Unity State would not attack Bentiu town for one week to give UN time to evacuate Nuba refugees. If the UN needs more time to evacuate the refugees because of logistical purposes, the SSLA will reconsider attacking the town and give UN more days. Protection of civilians is our first priority and we feel pity for poor Nuba refugees caught in a crossfire between revolutionary forces and corrupt government of Juba.

We are also delighted to announce to the people of South Sudan that the SPLA Division in Maban which consists of one battalion has defected to revolutionary forces on November, 1^st under the command of Col. Dech Chuol Juch. We congratulate Col Dech Chuol for joining the revolutionary forces and therefore welcome him to join the liberation forces whose objective is to free South Sudan from corruption.

We call upon SPLA forces in Unity State and Upper Nile to emulate Col. Dech Chuol and join the revolutionary forces that are fighting the corrupt government in Juba for the simple reason that the corruption lords neglected the SPLA army. Salva Kiir does not care about men and women in uniform and most SPLA soldiers know very well that nobody cares for them in Juba. Up to now, the SPLA soldiers did not receive their salaries from August to November because the corrupt SPLA generals in Bilpam Headquarters took their money. The South Sudan Legislative Assembly allocated half a billion dollars to SPLA army and yet the forces are not receiving salaries. The question every SPLA soldier should answer is: Why do you want to die for corruption lords in Juba who don’t care about you?

 When an SPLA soldiers is killed, nobody takes care of their children because the corruption lords do not care about them. When we remove the corrupt government of Juba, we will ensure that every SPLA soldier has regular salary, allowances, health benefits and life insurance. The new government will pass a law which would allow the family of a fallen SPLA soldier to receive salary for ten years. The new government will ensure that the men and women in uniform are accorded respect they deserve because they are the ones protecting the South and the constitution. However, corruption lords in Juba have no interest in maintaining the SPLA army except when they need them to fight against democratic forces that want to remove them from power.

It is the duty of every SPLA soldier to rebel and overthrow the government in Juba to save our country from corruption. The gallant forces of SPLA all over South Sudan must act as soon as possible to save our country from corruption lords by staging a military coup so that the people of South Sudan refocus on development and return $4.5 billion dollars stolen between 2005 and 2011. It is the duty of every SPLA soldier to put in jail the corrupt officials in Juba so that we return the stolen money and give it to SPLA forces.

When Salva Kiir is sick, he will go to Nairobi or South Africa for treatment. When Riek Machar had an eye problem last October, he went to Mayo Clinic in USA and spent over $20,000 dollars for treatment. But when the SPLA soldier is sick of Malaria, he will die without treatment because the corruption lords in Juba failed to provide the SPLA army with health benefits. When the SPLA generals in Bilpam get sick, they fly to Jordan and India for treatment while an ordinary SPLA soldier has no access to Panadol. It is therefore the duty of every SPLA soldier to fight against corruption lords in Juba so that every Southern Sudanese, from president up to grassroots, is treated equal. South Sudan is known as an egalitarian society but the corruption lords in Juba made it as unequal society where a clique of looters become supper rich at the expense of poor majority. The only way to rectify the situation is through barrel of the gun. Therefore, the SPLA forces in the South must free themselves from corruption lords in Juba by staging a military coup as soon as possible.

For contact:

Information Department

SSLM/A Headquarters

Mayom, South Sudan

Email: southsudanliberationarmy@hotmail.com