South Sudan President Salva Kiir is assuring the country that there won’t be war again, a statement coming days after soldiers clashed in the capital Juba.
Kiir on Thursday deplored the “misinformation circulating of tension in the army headquarters.”
“Our army is intact and together with other security agencies, are discharging their patriotic duty effectively,” he said. “As your president, I am here to assure you that our country is secure and safe. I said it time and again that our country will not return to war. We will embrace dialogue to solve our differences.”
His statement came after the attempted arrest of former spy chief, Gen Akol Koor, escalated into a military confrontation in Juba’s Thonypiny residential area on November 23.
Four people died and a dozen others were wounded. And this threw the capital and the nation into confusion about the state of governance and rule of law in the country.
The South Sudan People’s Defence Forces (SSPDF) spokesperson, Gen Lul Ruai, described the incident as a misunderstanding between the inner and outer forces stationed at Gen Akol’s residence.
Gen Akol, who President Salva Kiir dismissed months ago from his role as director-general of the National Security Internal Bureau, resisted initial attempts to remove him from the property, according to the SSPDF.
While the SSPDF reported four fatalities and two civilian injuries, but Juba Teaching Hospital confirmed receiving 10 wounded civilians.
Gen Ruai acknowledged the gravity of the situation, stating that soldiers involved in the confrontation would face administrative disciplinary action.
But civil society activists, opposition leaders, and citizens criticised the government for the use of force in a densely populated urban area.
“We lost two servicemen, one from the security forces inside the compound and one from the forces outside the fence. Two civilians were crushed to death by our armoured personnel carriers. Two others, a university student and a lawyer, were injured in the crossfire but are now in stable condition,” Gen Ruai said. “The situation has now returned to normal.”
But, according to South Sudan’s Foreign Affairs spokesperson Apul Ayuel, Gen Akol has agreed to relocate from his Thonypiny residence to Jebel residential area.
This wasn’t the first clash between troops serving the same mission. Some critics have argued it reflects the malady of delayed reforms in the security sector as demanded by the 2018 peace agreement that helped create the Transitional Government of National Unity (TGNoU), which Kiir leads.
In a speech to the Reconstituted Transitional National Legislative Assembly last week, South Sudan’s peace monitoring organ warned that the country has been sorely lacking on progress to reform the security agencies.
“On Transitional Security Arrangements, there has been very little progress on the unification of forces since the last report. The political process for the unification of the second command echelon has not yet been concluded,” observed Maj-Gen Tai Gituai, interim chairperson of the Revitalised Joint Monitoring and Evaluation Commission (RJMEC), which monitors implementation of the 2018 Revitalised Agreement on the Resolution of the Conflict in South Sudan (R-ARCSS), the peace deal mediated by the regional bloc, Intergovernmental Authority on Development (Igad).
That peace deal brought together various armed groups that had fought each other in a brutal war from 2013. And it created pillars under which mediators thought South Sudan can establish lasting peace.
They included reforms and unification of forces that had splintered along factions, justice and reconciliation, electoral institutions to conduct a free and fair election as well as the reforms in the management of state resources, including purging corruption.
“It is imperative that the RTGoNU, (legislative assembly) and all other stakeholders should work diligently to complete the pending tasks of the Agreement, particularly those related to the Permanent Constitution-making, electoral preparations, unification of the forces, and transitional justice.”
Earlier in September, South Sudan delayed its election calendar 2026, having failed to organised elections this December. It annoyed some donors. But it also revealed the problem of slow implementation.
“It is crucial for state governments to promote open political spaces and ensure security at local levels,” Gituai told a gathering of governors in Juba last week. “The next two years will be critical in shaping South Sudan’s democratic future as it prepares for elections slated for December 2026.”
SPLM party’s secretary-general, Peter Lam Both, says the standoff between Gen Akol Koor and the government peacefully resolved, what he argued was a show of dialogue and maturity.
Opposition leader Pagan Amum, head of the Real SPLM, condemned the government’s excessive use of firepower in a civilian area.
“You cannot deploy heavy military weapons in a capital city. Arrests should be conducted according to the rule of law, not through military confrontation. The use of arms was unjustifiable and a clear violation of human rights,” Amum said.
He also criticised the lack of a warrant in the government’s attempt to arrest Gen Akol, describing it as a direct consequence of the 2014 National Security Act, which grants sweeping powers to the National Security Service (NSS).
“Even if it was Gen Akol who championed this act, such powers are dangerous and undermine the rule of law,” he added.
In an opinion piece, Deng Bol Aruai Bol, chairman of the Common People’s Alliance, echoed Amum’s concerns. He described Articles 54 and 55 of the NSS Act as existential threats to South Sudanese citizens.
“These provisions can be used against anyone, from political activists to businesspeople, journalists, or even high-ranking officials. In our fragile political environment, such powers enable personal vendettas and abuses with little accountability,” Bol said.
The broader implications of the NSS’s unchecked authority were highlighted by diaspora journalist Ayuen Panchol, who argued that Gen Akol is now a victim of the very tactics he used during his tenure.
Gen Akol’s controversial tenure as the long-time intelligence chief ended in October, when President Kiir dismissed him, initially appointing him governor of his home state before revoking the appointment. His removal highlighted ongoing tensions within South Sudan’s political and military elite.
The NSS, established in 2011, has been widely criticised for human rights abuses. According to Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch, its powers to detain, arrest, and seize property without judicial oversight have led to widespread abuses, including torture and arbitrary detention.
The NSS’s notorious "Blue House" has been the site of numerous documented violations, including the detention of activists like Peter Biar Ajak and businessman Kerbino Wol.
The NSS’s influence also extends beyond South Sudan’s borders. In one of the most high-profile cases, Dong Samuel Luak and Aggrey Idri were abducted in Nairobi in 2017 and later killed in South Sudan, as confirmed by a UN panel.
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