The SPLM-IO Commissioner for Nasir County, Hon. Gatluak Lew, has strongly condemned the airstrikes launched by forces loyal to President Salva Kiir in coordination with Ugandan support. He accused Kampala of supplying the Juba regime with military aircraft that are now being used to target civilians.

In a statement released on his official Facebook page, Commissioner Gatluak denounced the government’s deliberate targeting of women, children, and the elderly in Madeng Payam, accusing it of destroying livelihoods and displacing innocent people. He described the bombardments as politically motivated and in direct violation of the 2018 peace agreement signed in Sudan.

The Commissioner further alleged that Gatwich Jok, the SPLM-IG-appointed Commissioner for Nasir, had earlier sent letters demanding that local chiefs submit to his administration. When the chiefs refused, Gatluak claimed, the regime resorted to airstrikes as retaliation.

Calling the attacks an “absolute violation of human rights and international agreements,” Hon. Gatluak appealed to the United Nations Security Council to increase pressure on Uganda to stop supplying South Sudan with military aircraft. He noted that Uganda’s involvement in South Sudan’s internal conflict is not new. In 2013, President Yoweri Museveni deployed troops to support Kiir’s forces against SPLM-IO rebels and even vowed to capture SPLM-IO leader Dr Riek Machar, despite international calls for Uganda to withdraw.

Hon. Gatluak warned that Uganda’s continued role in the conflict only worsens the suffering of civilians and undermines peace efforts. While Uganda and South Sudan maintain close bilateral relations, with Uganda serving as a major supplier of food and goods to South Sudan, Gatluak stressed that such ties should not come at the expense of human life and peace.