SPLA IS STILL IN CONTROL OF BENTIU AND NASIR

The Rebels Did Not Recapture Bentiu Town
For Immediate Release
May, 5, 2014

This is to clarify what BBC correspondent, Alastair Leithead, reported inside UNMISS Compound in Bentiu alleging that “Government troops retreat in Bentiu”. The SPLA is still in control of Bentiu town. What happened is that the rebels attacked a platoon of SPLA forces in the morning from the east and ran away. The SPLA battalion in the south and the west of the town flanked the rebels and repulsed their attack. The SPLA is now pursuing the rebels to dislodge them from their hiding places. The rebels were pre-empting the attacks the SPLA was launching against their hiding positions. BBC correspondent should go inside the town to discover that the SPLA is still in control. The rebels who were hiding in the bushes near the town are now completely annihilated and would never dare to return.
We would also want to refute the allegations of the rebels published by Sudan Tribune claiming to have attacked Nasir town. Such a claim is false and the journalists who want to verify it independently should contact the UNMISS in Nasir to find out the truth. The rebels are no near the entire Nasir County, let alone close to the town. Riek Machar crossed the border to Ethiopia but was advised today to leave Ethiopian territory. He is now walking on foot to Akobo after being told by the Ethiopian Federal Police to surrender his weapons.
For contact:
Maj. Gen. Gordon Buay
On behalf of the Government of South Sudan
Email: [email protected]