{"id":57733,"date":"2024-05-06T15:20:49","date_gmt":"2024-05-06T15:20:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/south-sudan\/all-news\/eastern-equatoria-denies-rebel-activity-blames-social-media-for-panic"},"modified":"2024-05-06T15:54:55","modified_gmt":"2024-05-06T15:54:55","slug":"eastern-equatoria-denies-rebel-activity-blames-social-media-for-panic","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/south-sudan\/all-news\/eastern-equatoria-denies-rebel-activity-blames-social-media-for-panic","title":{"rendered":"Eastern Equatoria denies rebel activity, blames social media for panic"},"content":{"rendered":"

Africa-Press – South-Sudan. <\/strong><\/span>Top government officials in South Sudan\u2019s Eastern Equatoria state are downplaying the presence of a new rebel group linked to a comedian, calling recent pronouncements a publicity stunt causing unnecessary fear.<\/p>\n

Comedian Feel Free last month announced the formation of \u201cPeople\u2019s Freedom Movement (PFM) and declared war on the government of President Salva Kiir Mayardit which it accused of corruption and disregarding citizens\u2019 lives.<\/p>\n

Later on, shooting at a Nimule police station, coupling with the newly announced rebellion, caused panic among the residents in the area.<\/p>\n

But Magwi County Commissioner Benjamin Pole Pole Olum, speaking at a ceremony in Nimule, attributed the panic to claims by Phillip Watmon Bartolommeo, a comedian known as \u201cFeel Free,\u201d who declared himself leader of the PFM.<\/p>\n

Olum condemned the April 25 attack on Nimule police station, which injured two civilians, but denied any connection to a formal rebel group.<\/p>\n

He called the claims \u201cmalicious\u201d and urged residents not to be misled.<\/p>\n

Eastern Equatoria Governor Louis Lobong Lojore echoed these sentiments, dismissing the PFM as a social media creation.<\/p>\n

He emphasized the region\u2019s past struggles with war and rebellion, highlighting the devastating impact on residents.<\/p>\n

\u201cThese are people who fight through social media platforms,\u201d Lobong said during the same event. \u201cThey can post anything to confuse the population. This thing doesn\u2019t exist, and they will never exist here in Eastern Equatoria.\u201d<\/p>\n

Lobong urged citizens, particularly the Ma\u2019di community living in exile, to return home and rebuild their lives through farming.<\/p>\n

He discouraged any attempts to reignite conflict, emphasizing the need for peace and stability.<\/p>\n

For More News And Analysis About South-Sudan<\/a> Follow Africa-Press<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Africa-Press – South-Sudan. Top government officials in South Sudan\u2019s Eastern Equatoria state are downplaying the presence of a new rebel group linked to a comedian, calling recent pronouncements a publicity stunt causing unnecessary fear. Comedian Feel Free last month announced the formation of \u201cPeople\u2019s Freedom Movement (PFM) and declared war on the government of President […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":84,"featured_media":57732,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2,12],"tags":[234,265,233],"class_list":["post-57733","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-all-news","category-policy","tag-africa-press","tag-africa-press-south-sudan","tag-south-sudan"],"yoast_head":"\nEastern Equatoria denies rebel activity, blames social media for panic - South Sudan<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Top government officials in South Sudan\u2019s Eastern Equatoria state are downplaying the presence of a new rebel group link ...\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/south-sudan\/all-news\/eastern-equatoria-denies-rebel-activity-blames-social-media-for-panic\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Eastern Equatoria denies rebel activity, blames social media for panic\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Top government officials in South Sudan\u2019s Eastern Equatoria state are downplaying the presence of a new rebel group link ...\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/south-sudan\/all-news\/eastern-equatoria-denies-rebel-activity-blames-social-media-for-panic\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"South Sudan\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/AfricaPressTunisiaa\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2024-05-06T15:20:49+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2024-05-06T15:54:55+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/south-sudan\/sites\/32\/2024\/05\/sm_1714998144.279323.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1200\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"871\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"cfeditoren\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"cfeditoren\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/south-sudan\/all-news\/eastern-equatoria-denies-rebel-activity-blames-social-media-for-panic#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/south-sudan\/all-news\/eastern-equatoria-denies-rebel-activity-blames-social-media-for-panic\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"cfeditoren\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/south-sudan\/#\/schema\/person\/068c7ab4e9634ae78ec5d54ec46598bb\"},\"headline\":\"Eastern Equatoria denies rebel activity, blames social media for panic\",\"datePublished\":\"2024-05-06T15:20:49+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2024-05-06T15:54:55+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/south-sudan\/all-news\/eastern-equatoria-denies-rebel-activity-blames-social-media-for-panic\"},\"wordCount\":285,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/south-sudan\/all-news\/eastern-equatoria-denies-rebel-activity-blames-social-media-for-panic#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/south-sudan\/sites\/32\/2024\/05\/sm_1714998144.279323.jpg\",\"keywords\":[\"Africa Press\",\"Africa Press-South-Sudan\",\"South-Sudan\"],\"articleSection\":[\"all news\",\"policy\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/south-sudan\/all-news\/eastern-equatoria-denies-rebel-activity-blames-social-media-for-panic#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/south-sudan\/all-news\/eastern-equatoria-denies-rebel-activity-blames-social-media-for-panic\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/south-sudan\/all-news\/eastern-equatoria-denies-rebel-activity-blames-social-media-for-panic\",\"name\":\"Eastern Equatoria denies rebel activity, blames social media for panic - 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