17 Soldiers Dead after Clash in South Sudanese Diocese, Bishop on Pastoral Visit Recalls Panic, Appeals for “reason”

According to Sudans Post, the August 16 “heavy fighting” between SPLM-IO forces and those of SSPDF in Yei River County resulted in the death of “at least 17 soldiers”.

In the August 16 report, Sudans Post cites the SPLA-IO Spokesperson, Col. Lam Paul Gabriel, saying that in the clash that started, when SPLM-IO soldiers attacked “SSPDF bases in Lasu and Libogo, two villages located roughly 25 kilometers southwest of Yei town ... 12 SSPDF soldiers were killed in the operation while five SPLA-IO fighters died in action.”

“Several others were injured on both sides, though the exact number of wounded remains unclear,” Sudans Post has reported.

In his audio recording shared with ACI Africa on Monday, August 18, Bishop Lodiong is thankful that no civilians were killed in the exchange of fire, crediting restraint on the part of government soldiers.

“Thank God, no civilian was killed. I think this time our armed men and women behaved in that particular incident, not to turn their barrels of the gun or their anger on civilians, except some few lootings here and there, which happens in any war,” he says.

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Still, Bishop Lodiong highlights negative effects of the August 16 soldiers’ class. “There was a family that lost the children; they don’t know where they have gone. The children took off to their own direction, and when the woman got up looking for the children, she could not find them,” he recounts, lamenting the trauma inflicted on children forced to run into the bushes at dawn.

In his audio recording, the Local Ordinary of Yei since his Episcopal Consecration in May 2022 denounces armed confrontation, saying it is not a viable solution to South Sudan’s challenges.

“We have said several times that war is not good; and let us talk our issues if they are issues. But if we have taken armed struggle or armed confrontation as the only way to solve the problem of this country, take me to the bank, that is a lie,” he says.

The Catholic Church leader appeals to both government and opposition forces to renounce violence and choose dialogue. “At the end of the day, whether you like it or not, we will come to the table and talk, and we will agree. The faster we do it, the better than prolonging war, and later on we end the tale at the end of the day at the table,” he says.

Calling upon citizens of the world’s newest country to safeguard their God-given dignity, Bishop Lodiong appeals for reason and dialogue.

“Let us not behave like animals; let us behave as people who reason because God created us in his own image. There is nothing that can defeat us by talking. The guns, when they talk, they destroy… But when we talk, our mouths talk, we solve issues,” he says, and emphasizes, “Let not the gun talk, let the mouth talk and the heart.”

The Local Ordinary of Yei goes on to assure those who had sought refuge in church premises and had begun returning to their homes his spiritual solidarity and safe return.

He prays for the dead soldiers and those who were injured during the confrontation complete recovery and urges the people of God in South Sudan to join in working for peace in the landlocked East African nation.