LEER – At least 10 people have been killed and eight others wounded in fighting between rival factions of South Sudan’s main armed opposition in southern Unity State, a local military official said, as a leadership dispute within the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement in Opposition (SPLM-IO) escalates into armed confrontation.
The clashes erupted on Tuesday and continued into Wednesday in Rupkong and Bow payams of Leer County, involving forces loyal to rival opposition leaders Oyet Nathaniel Pierino and Regina Joseph Kaba, both of whom claim to be the legitimate acting chairperson of the movement.
James Yoach Bading, the military commissioner of Leer County aligned with Oyet, confirmed the casualties, saying four fighters from his faction and six from the opposing side had been killed.
“We have recorded 10 people killed from both sides. Four were killed on our side, while six were killed on the other side. Another eight people sustained injuries during the fighting,” Bading said.
He accused forces loyal to Kaba of launching attacks against his positions in Rupkong, saying his troops had resisted the offensive since fighting began on Tuesday.
“The forces loyal to Regina Joseph attacked our positions in Rupkong, but we have been defending ourselves since yesterday,” he said, adding that fighting was continuing despite the casualties.
Bading said the eight wounded fighters had been evacuated to Leer County Hospital for medical treatment, but warned that the casualty toll could rise as hostilities continued in the area.
However, Dhoal Koryom Lingling, the SPLM-IO military governor aligned with Kaba’s faction, confirmed the fighting but disputed the casualties reported by Bading.
“The fighting is between our own forces within the SPLA-IO, involving those loyal to former acting chairman Oyet Nathaniel and those under Regina Joseph, who was appointed acting chairperson of the movement,” Koryom said.
He said his faction had recorded three wounded fighters but no fatalities, contradicting Bading’s claim that six fighters from the opposing side had been killed.
“We have only three people wounded on our side, and no deaths have been reported. The fighting is still ongoing, and further details will be provided as the situation develops,” he said.
The conflicting accounts could not be independently verified, and it remained unclear whether the casualty figures covered all areas affected by the fighting.
The latest violence follows clashes around Adok Port, approximately 20 kilometres southeast of Leer town, where forces loyal to Oyet seized control of the strategic river port on Wednesday after two days of fighting with troops aligned with Kaba.
Two local youths told Sudans Post on Wednesday that Oyet’s forces had captured the area following renewed fighting, with one confirming his presence at the port after the takeover.
Between 10 and 15 fighters were initially reported killed on both sides, although the full extent of the casualties remained unclear.
Leer County is the home area of Riek Machar, South Sudan’s suspended first vice president and longtime leader of the SPLM-IO, whose detention since March 2025 has left the opposition movement grappling with competing claims to leadership.
The latest divisions emerged in late August when Oyet, who had been serving as acting chairman following Machar’s detention, suspended Kaba and seven other senior officials, accusing them of misconduct and undermining the movement’s leadership structures.
Kaba rejected the decision and subsequently issued a counter-order suspending Oyet, setting off a leadership dispute that has divided senior political and military officials within the movement.
The dispute has since extended to the military structures of the SPLA-IO, with rival commanders asserting authority over opposition forces in Unity State and other parts of the country.
The latest clashes have raised concerns about the safety of civilians in southern Unity, a region that has experienced repeated episodes of violence and displacement since South Sudan’s civil war began in December 2013.
Neither faction has indicated whether it intends to halt military operations, raising fears that continued confrontations could deepen divisions within the opposition movement and further undermine security in the area.