{"id":89684,"date":"2026-02-06T12:57:56","date_gmt":"2026-02-06T12:57:56","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/south-sudan\/all-news\/sspdf-claims-33-pows-killed-in-walgak-attack"},"modified":"2026-02-06T13:02:17","modified_gmt":"2026-02-06T13:02:17","slug":"sspdf-claims-33-pows-killed-in-walgak-attack","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/south-sudan\/all-news\/sspdf-claims-33-pows-killed-in-walgak-attack","title":{"rendered":"SSPDF Claims 33 POWs Killed in Walgak Attack"},"content":{"rendered":"

Africa-Press – South-Sudan. <\/strong><\/span>A soldier aligned with the South Sudan People\u2019s Defence Forces (SSPDF) has alleged that at least 33 prisoners of war were killed by the Sudan People\u2019s Liberation Army-in-Opposition (SPLA-IO) while in captivity during fighting in Walgak village of Akobo County in South Sudan\u2019s Jonglei State.<\/p>\n

The survivor, who identified himself as Peter Majak Anyar, said he escaped from detention after what he described as a deadly attack on a group of captives. He told local authorities that dozens of prisoners were being held after clashes involving SSPDF soldiers, the White Army and SPLA-IO fighters.<\/p>\n

According to his account, 44 people were captured and held together. He alleged that 33 of them were killed on Tuesday evening, while 10 others were taken away by their captors to an unknown location.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe were 44 captives. They took ten with them and killed 33 at around 8:00 pm. I managed to escape and reach the government side,\u201d Majak said, claiming that the killings were carried out by SPLA-IO forces.<\/p>\n

He described himself as the sole survivor of the group but provided no further details on how the deaths occurred. His testimony could not be independently verified, and no official casualty figures have been released.<\/p>\n

In response, the SPLA-IO strongly denied responsibility and instead accused SSPDF troops of committing abuses during what it described as an assault on Walgak. In a statement, SPLA-IO spokesperson Col. Lam Paul Gabriel alleged that government forces launched a surprise attack on the village, killing civilians and burning homes.<\/p>\n

\u201cSSPDF forces attacked Walgak and killed every civilian they found before setting the village on fire,\u201d Gabriel said.<\/p>\n

The opposition group further claimed that prisoners of war previously captured in other areas \u2014 including Waat, Yuai and Pajut \u2014 were killed after SSPDF soldiers allegedly discovered them being held in detention during the fighting. The SPLA-IO described the incident as a serious violation of international humanitarian law and called for an independent investigation.<\/p>\n

The conflicting accounts underscore the fragile security situation in parts of Jonglei State, where recurring clashes between rival forces and armed youth groups continue to place civilians and detainees at risk.<\/p>\n

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

Africa-Press – South-Sudan. A soldier aligned with the South Sudan People\u2019s Defence Forces (SSPDF) has alleged that at least 33 prisoners of war were killed by the Sudan People\u2019s Liberation Army-in-Opposition (SPLA-IO) while in captivity during fighting in Walgak village of Akobo County in South Sudan\u2019s Jonglei State. The survivor, who identified himself as Peter […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":84,"featured_media":89683,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2,12],"tags":[233],"class_list":["post-89684","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-all-news","category-policy","tag-south-sudan"],"yoast_head":"\nSSPDF Claims 33 POWs Killed in Walgak Attack - South Sudan<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"A soldier aligned with the South Sudan People\u2019s Defence Forces (SSPDF) has alleged that at least 33 prisoners of war wer ...\" \/>\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\/sspdf-claims-33-pows-killed-in-walgak-attack\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"SSPDF Claims 33 POWs Killed in Walgak Attack\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"A soldier aligned with the South Sudan People\u2019s Defence Forces (SSPDF) has alleged that at least 33 prisoners of war wer ...\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/south-sudan\/all-news\/sspdf-claims-33-pows-killed-in-walgak-attack\" \/>\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=\"2026-02-06T12:57:56+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2026-02-06T13:02:17+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/south-sudan\/sites\/32\/2026\/02\/sm_1770370289.131609.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"720\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"417\" \/>\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\/sspdf-claims-33-pows-killed-in-walgak-attack#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/south-sudan\/all-news\/sspdf-claims-33-pows-killed-in-walgak-attack\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"cfeditoren\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/south-sudan\/#\/schema\/person\/068c7ab4e9634ae78ec5d54ec46598bb\"},\"headline\":\"SSPDF Claims 33 POWs Killed in Walgak Attack\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-02-06T12:57:56+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-02-06T13:02:17+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/south-sudan\/all-news\/sspdf-claims-33-pows-killed-in-walgak-attack\"},\"wordCount\":367,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/south-sudan\/all-news\/sspdf-claims-33-pows-killed-in-walgak-attack#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/south-sudan\/sites\/32\/2026\/02\/sm_1770370289.131609.jpg\",\"keywords\":[\"South-Sudan\"],\"articleSection\":[\"all news\",\"policy\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/south-sudan\/all-news\/sspdf-claims-33-pows-killed-in-walgak-attack#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/south-sudan\/all-news\/sspdf-claims-33-pows-killed-in-walgak-attack\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/south-sudan\/all-news\/sspdf-claims-33-pows-killed-in-walgak-attack\",\"name\":\"SSPDF Claims 33 POWs Killed in Walgak Attack - 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