Feb 16, 2017(Nyamilepedia) —— A government offensive that started two days ago in relatively peaceful Lou-Nuer border areas has began to penetrate into Yuai and its surrounding.
On Monday this week, a heavily armed government troop moved out of Pajut, which has been the buffer between the two rival forces with the government forces occupying the Duk and Twic East counties, and the SPLM/A in opposition occupying all the Lou-Nuer counties and most of the other counties to the north.
Prepared for a dry season offensives, Salva kiir government is believed to be targeting Uror, Waat and Akobo, which are some of the SPLM/A-IO Strongholds that were not captured by the regime in the last three years.
A fighting which began in Panyuok on Tuesday reached Yuai yesterday at 2pm, South Sudan local time.
According to local residents, who fled the town, government troops captured Yuai on Wednesday at 2pm but later tactically withdrew to Wangkaar, a small village between Yuai and Panyuok.
The residents, who fled in fear of their lives, said the army has burned down many houses in Panyuok and Yuai but no one confirmed the exact number of tukuls burned down by the troops.
They said the troops withdrew after an heavy rain due to fear of retaliation from the white army and SPLA-IO who were still mobilizing to encounter the attacks on their strongholds.
South Sudan conflict is being fought on thin ethnic lines. While the loyal troops are mostly from the Dinka tribe with allied militias and mercenaries, the anti-government troop fighting in Lou-Nuer areas is mostly from the Nuer tribe.
The conflict, which began in December 2013 with massacres of Dr. Riek Machar’s Nuer tribe in the capital, Juba, is now the largest crisis in Africa and the third largest in the world after Syria and Afghanistan.
With more 50 thousand killed in the first two years of the conflict, 2.8 million is currently displaced and more than 7 million people are in need of humanitarian assistance according to UN reports.
