South Sudan: Rebel war-lord chased into Northern Sudan


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Sudan Peoples Liberation Army (SPLA) spokesman, major general Kuol Diem Kuol has said that the rebellion which has been going on in Unity State led
by rebel soldier Colonel Galwak Gai has come to an end.

“SPLA has defeated rebels led by Colonel Galwak Gai, a defected SPLA officer. His fighters have been seriously hit and many have died. He has escaped northwards to Higleig area,” Kuol Diem said during a press interview in Juba.

But Colonel Galwak Gai cannot be pursued into northern Sudan territory where he is believed to have escaped because it is controlled by the Sudan Armed Forces (SAF). The SPLA says it will not intrude into the jurisdiction of another military and will abide by the 2005 Comprehensive Peace Agreement, which brought peace to the country after two decades of war.

According to the SPLA spokesman Gai had escaped from the south with about 56 men, whilst pointing out that the SPLA had killed more than 20 and captured 32 of Galwak’s 200 men in confrontations. He also observed that some of the rebel leader’s men have started surrendering to SPLA forces. The remaining forces are believed to have fled to surrounding villages.

Gai defected and started fighting against the government of southern
Sudan immediately after losing in the general elections that were held
in April 2010 in southern Sudan and the general elections in Sudan. He stood for a governorship post in the southern Sudan Unity state but was defeated.

After the defeat, he demanded that the results be cancelled claiming
that the elections were not free and fair. But southern Sudan
government and the electoral commission denied the allegations and rejected his demands.

Soon afterwards, he took to the bush with his men and started fighting SPLA, killing a few of the national defence forces before SPLA troops reorganized themselves to capture Colonel Galwak Gai and his rebel forces.

Early this week, under intensified pressure from SPLA, Colonel Galwak Gai and his forces escaped to Higleig in northern Sudan, an area controlled by the Khartoum government.

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