South Sudan: New rebel faction called South Sudan Armed Forces (SSAF) overruns police post near Torit
A new rebel faction in South Sudan’s Eastern Equatoria state has on Thursday claimed to have overrun a police post in Idolu, some 35 kilometers east of Torit town, capital of the state.
The new rebellion has raised fears of further escalations of violence in the area despite a peace agreement signed between president Salva Kiir and armed opposition faction, SPLM-IO, led by former vice president, Riek Machar, ending a 21-month long violent conflict in the country.
Residents told Sudan Tribune on Thursday that armed men in military trucks and wearing uniforms similar to the Sudan People’s Liberation Army (SPLA), which is the official army of South Sudan, appeared in the village of Idolu and without facing resistance declared control of the police post located outside the state capital, Torit.
Multiple local government officials from the area and security sources also confirmed that a group of armed men entered Idolu police post at around 3:30 pm on Thursday and declared control of the security of the area.
The identity of the group remains unclear and neither the state government in Torit nor the central government in Juba had come out to say whom they have suspected to have carried out the attack in the area.
A group calling itself South Sudan armed forces claimed the responsibility of the attack in which three policemen are reported to have been captured and taken hostage by the group.