Uganda Deploys Special Forces to South Sudan to Protect the Government
Sudan Events – Agencies
The Ugandan army commander said on Tuesday that Uganda has deployed special forces in Juba, the capital of South Sudan, “to secure it,” following growing tensions between President Salva Kiir and his First Vice President Riek Machar, which raised concerns about a return to civil war.
Tensions have escalated in South Sudan, an oil-producing country, in recent days after Kiir’s government arrested two ministers and several senior military officials allied with Machar, only to later release one of the ministers. The arrests in Juba and the bloody clashes around the town of Nassir in the north are seen as a threat to the 2018 peace agreement, which ended a five-year civil war between Kiir’s and Machar’s forces, a conflict that killed around 400,000 people.
Ugandan army commander Muhoozi Kainerugaba said in a series of posts on the “X” platform late Tuesday-Wednesday: “Two days ago, our special forces units entered Juba to secure it.” In another post, he added: “We in the Uganda People’s Defence Forces recognize only one president of South Sudan, His Excellency President Salva Kiir… Any movement against him is a declaration of war on Uganda.”
The South Sudanese Information Minister and the military spokesperson did not respond to phone calls seeking comment, according to Reuters.
After the outbreak of civil war in South Sudan in 2013, Uganda deployed its forces to Juba to support Kiir’s troops against Machar. Eventually, Ugandan forces withdrew in 2015. However, Uganda redeployed forces to Juba in 2016 following renewed fighting between the two sides, before withdrawing again.
Uganda is concerned that a full-scale war in its northern neighbor could lead to waves of refugees crossing the border, potentially creating instability. Kainerugaba did not clarify whether the latest troop deployment was in response to a request from Kiir’s government or how long the forces would remain in South Sudan.
A spokesperson for the Ugandan military told the Associated Press that by sending Ugandan soldiers to Juba, Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni “is moving to be the guarantor of the peace process that has kept Kiir and his deputy Machar together in a national unity government.”
