Former South Sudanese general forms anti-government rebel group

A former South Sudanese army general, who resigned last month, has formed a new anti-government rebel group, pledging to topple President Salva Kiir.

Lieutenant General Thomas Cirillo Swaka, the former deputy head of logistics, quit his position last month, citing abuses by government forces and accusing Kiir of transforming the country’s military into a “tribal army.”

He had said the military, police and other security branches systematically recruited from among the Dinka, the president’s tribe.

Swaka was one of the three senior military officials who resigned in February, accusing Kiir’s government of “tribalism,” “corruption” and other abuses.

The former general announced in a statement on Monday that the new rebel group, called the National Salvation Front (NSF), “is convinced that to restore sanity and normalcy in our country, Kiir must go; he must vacate office.”

He also pledged that his rebel group would “fight to eradicate the malady that has badly tarnished the image of South Sudan.”

Swaka also slammed the “above-the-law culture and mentality,” which he says prevailed among top officials in the military, adding that such an approach is to blame for rampant crime, including robberies, rapes and embezzlement of public funds.

South Sudan’s army spokesman, Brig-Gen Lul Ruai Koang, said he had no immediate comment on the news.

The rebel group will apparently increase instability in the youngest country in Africa, which has already been grappling with violence fueled by another rebel group for more than three years.

EA