JUBA South Sudan’s main armed opposition group, the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement-in-Opposition (SPLM/A-IO), has condemned remarks by a senior army commander suggesting the creation of a separate political entity for the Nuer community, warning the comments could inflame ethnic tensions in an already volatile security environment,
The criticism followed comments by Johnson Olony, the South Sudan People’s Defence Forces deputy chief of defence forces for mobilisation and disarmament, who said the Nuer should be given their “own country” so they could govern themselves.
The remarks were captured in a video circulated widely on social media and obtained by Sudans Post. They were made Friday in Poktap, Duk County, Jonglei State, during a visit by Jonglei State Governor Riek Gai Kok, who appeared seated alongside Olony.
Olony who also commands the Agwelek militia is heard in the video saying he had previously argued that the Nuer should rule themselves in a separate political entity, presenting the idea as a solution to recurring ethnic violence.
The SPLM/A-IO rejected the remarks, describing them as provocative and misleading. In a statement issued Friday, Puok Both Baluang, the acting press secretary in the office of suspended First Vice President Riek Machar, said Olony’s comments appeared intended to portray the opposition as an ethnically based movement.
“This statement appears to be an attempt by Olony perhaps reflecting the regime’s policy to portray the SPLM/A-IO as a tribal-based Nuer movement seeking a separate Nuer state,” Both said.
He accused Olony of using ethnic rhetoric to mobilize non-Nuer communities against the opposition, warning such language could fuel violence and deepen divisions.
According to Both, the remarks form part of what he described as a broader campaign of ethnic stigmatization targeting the Nuer community. “We categorically reject this statement and vehemently condemn it,” he said, adding that the SPLM/A-IO remains committed to a united South Sudan.
“We also wish to state the obvious: the SPLM/A-IO is a national movement committed to a united, peaceful, democratic and prosperous South Sudan, not a sectarian organisation,” he said.
The dispute comes amid heightened insecurity in Jonglei State, where clashes and armed mobilization have persisted despite repeated calls for restraint from political leaders and community elders.
It also follows earlier remarks by Olony in which he ordered troops preparing for deployment in Jonglei to “spare no lives,” including the elderly. Those comments drew alarm from civil society groups and international observers, who warned of the risk of mass abuses against civilians.
Olony has not publicly responded to the SPLM/A-IO’s criticism, and government officials have not issued an official statement addressing the controversy.
Analysts say the exchange underscores the fragility of South Sudan’s political settlement, where inflammatory rhetoric by senior figures can quickly sharpen ethnic fault lines and undermine efforts to stabilize conflict-affected regions such as Jonglei and Upper Nile.
