South Sudan: SPLA controls Pagak but fighting with SPLA-IO continue in surrounding areas
A senior United Nations peacekeeping official Thursday told the UN Security Council that the government forces have controlled the rebel headquarters near the border with Ethiopia.
The statements put an end to the conflicting reports from the two warring sides in South Sudan as they both claim the control of Pagak since the 7th August when the government forces attacked the rebel stronghold of the border town.
UN Assistant Secretary-General for Peacekeeping Operations, El Ghassim Wane, said the security situation in the Upper Nile region remains a source of “serious concern”.
“While efforts by the SPLA to take Pagak, the SPLA-IO de facto headquarters, initially succeeded, fighting around Pagak and along the corridor to Mathiang continues and civilians in the area remain displaced including some flow of refugees to Ethiopia,” Wane said.
He added that clashes resumed between the SPLA and the rebel SPLA-IO in Kaka, on the west bank of the Nile. Also, he said insecurity continues in Equatoria region where rebel fighters loyal to the former First Vice President fight against the government forces.