South Sudan President Salva Kiir’s government denies that any order was issued to hunt down and capture dead or alive First Vice President Riek Machar and that a separate order was ever made to shoot down unauthorized flights in the country including United Nations aircrafts.
The documents were fabricated according to the South Sudan government, U.S. and United Nations officials say.
The documents were purportedly signed by South Sudan’s chief of military staff Gen. Paul Malong Awan and addressed to Lt. Gen. Mangar Buong Aluenge deputy chief of staff.
One of the memos, bearing a purported logo of the national army, dated July 25, 2016 directs Gen. Aluenge to shoot down any “uncleared Aircraft on South Sudan Airspace” and also states “Don’t spare any aircraft bearing UN symbols on the suspected airspace.”
Another purported memo, dated July 26 also from Gen. Awan to Gen. Aluenge directs him to attack including with “aerial bombardment” Dr. Riek Machar’s “hideout” and to “bring him dead or alive to answer all the charges against him.”
The purported directives to Gen. Aluenge from Gen. Awan from the commander-in-chief, Salva Kiir, have been refuted as fabrications by the South Sudan government.
“We understand that the government of South Sudan and the SPLA Chief of the General Staff General Paul Malong have said that the documents are fabricated and a statement to that effect will be released shortly,” says a spokesperson at the U.S. Department of State, to The Black Star News this morning. “We call on all parties to cease the publication and diffusion of disinformation and propaganda. Dissemination of fraudulent documents is dangerous and irresponsible, and may jeopardize the safety of South Sudanese citizens and their international partners.”
Separately, Farhan Haq, the United Nation’s spokesperson says, “I’ve been informed that the Government of South Sudan denies these memos and have said that they are fake.”
South Sudan has plunged back into conflict since last month following a confrontation between President Kiir’s fighters and Dr. Machar’s.
Dr. Machar has since left Juba the capital with his fighters and there are fears that the peace treaty that had temporarily ended almost three years of war between his forces and President Kiir’s has collapsed.
Dr. Machar had returned to Juba as First Vice President in Transitional Government under the August 2015 peace deal to end three years of war. On Monday Kiir announced that Taban Deng Gai, a Machar ally, had been appointed as the new First Vice President leading to concern by Machar’s supporters that it amounts to an open declaration of war.
Critics of Salvar Kiir believe the memos attributed to Gen. Awan are authentic.
The Black Star News wasn’t able to get comments from Gen. Awan.
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