The Involvement of South Sudan and Uganda in the Transport of Militia Weapons

Behind the News
By: Mohamed Wada’ah

“We call on President Salva Kiir’s government to investigate these incidents, as there are documents and evidence proving these secret flights. We urge President Salva Kiir to open an investigation into how thousands of South Sudanese are being recruited to fight alongside the militia. Fokker planes are taking off from Juba and landing near the Sudanese border, and the same planes take off from Uganda and land in Hamrat al-Sheikh. What we do not understand is how the South Sudanese government got involved in this conspiracy. The Ugandan president is a protégé of Israel and its agent in Africa.”

In an important investigative report, the news agency Naba Sudan uncovered alarming information about suspicious aerial movements in South Sudan on Wednesday, October 9, 2024. According to the report, mysterious air traffic was observed in South Sudan’s skies, with some planes turning off their tracking devices as they approached the Sudanese border. A plane registered in Kenya with the number (5Y-JJJ) was tracked; its declared destination was the city of Malakal, but the flight continued towards the Sudanese border before the tracking device was turned off, confirming the flight’s secretive nature. The plane is owned by an Israeli businessman with Ugandan citizenship, named Barak Orland. He is an Israeli arms dealer and the Vice President of the Uganda Cycling Federation, with connections to Ugandan government officials and a close friendship with Uganda’s Joint Chiefs of Staff. He has also facilitated Uganda’s acquisition of Sukhoi aircraft, and pilots are trained at his private airline academy. The company owns about 17 planes that do not require paved runways and are engaged in Israeli military activities.

The company has conducted suspicious flights within Sudan. A BE-1900D aircraft with registration 5X-JBR landed near the Sudanese border. Reliable information revealed that a Fokker 50 made a flight on the same date, leaving a few hours later and turning off its navigation tracking device when nearing the Sudanese border. Information also indicated that this aircraft took off from Juba, with its declared destination being Malakal, but it continued its journey towards the Sudanese border and then turned off its tracking device to disappear from radar, reappearing again at the Sudanese border before landing back in Juba.

Special sources confirmed that this company has operated many secret flights to areas near the Sudanese border, transporting weapons and ammunition to militias. It has also smuggled arms into Darfur using dirt airstrips in Hamrat al-Sheikh and other locations. While Emirati planes fly directly from Uganda to Um Jaras in Chad, loaded with weapons and supplies for the militias, this company, with the knowledge of the Ugandan government, is delivering Israeli arms funded by the UAE directly to Darfur and through South Sudan to militias near the border.

Ugandan President Museveni does not hide his ties to the UAE. Since the outbreak of the war in April 2023, he has allowed air corridors for arms transfers to militias in exchange for the UAE building him a new airport. He proudly boasts of his relationship with Israel and serves as its broker in Africa. Therefore, it is no surprise that he does everything in his power to serve the UAE and Israeli agendas, despite violating the African Union Charter and international law by meddling in the war and facilitating arms transfers that kill Sudanese people.

What we do not understand is how South Sudan got involved in this conspiracy. This raises doubts about the truth and manner of recruiting mercenaries from South Sudan to fight alongside the militia. Are there official leaders involved in this crime? Does President Salva Kiir know about this, or is it happening behind his back? Could this have anything to do with the dismissal of the head of South Sudan’s security service?

We have faith in our brothers in South Sudan and trust their commitment to the fraternal relationship between the two countries and peoples. Therefore, we present this information to them and hope they will take it seriously. We call on President Salva Kiir’s government to investigate these incidents, as there is evidence and documentation proving the secret flights we have mentioned, and to open an investigation into how thousands of South Sudanese are being recruited to fight with the militia.

You are killing us, President Salva Kiir.

October 11, 2024