Testifying at the 127th session of his trial on 6 November, former First Vice President Riek Machar described waves of clashes between government soldiers and youth in Nasir between 2021 and 2024 and said he and his co-accused had acted to prevent violence.
Former First Vice President Riek Machar on Friday 6 November gave a detailed account of clashes between South Sudan People's Defence Forces (SSPDF) soldiers and local youth in Nasir County, Upper Nile State, between 2021 and 2024, as he continued his defence at the 127th session of his trial before the Special Court in Juba, Radio Tamazuj and Eye Radio reported.
Machar, the fifth accused, described clashes triggered by the arrest of two youth leaders in early 2021, the theft of fishing nets and the collection of firewood in February 2024, and a child custody dispute in October 2024. "This third group of clashes was over theft of fishing nets. The fighting went on for three days," he told the court, as quoted by Radio Tamazuj. He said 12 incidents between January and August 2024 involved killings on both sides and the shelling of residential areas, displacing about 40,000 people, and that the October 2024 fighting left 13 soldiers and five civilians dead.
Ceasefire monitors' findings
Machar cited reports by the Ceasefire and Transitional Security Arrangements Monitoring and Verification Mechanism (CTSAMVM), including report 2024/06, which he said recommended moving SSPDF troops out of the area and deploying the Necessary Unified Forces instead. He said the monitors had found that SSPDF soldiers lacked training to operate under the 2018 peace agreement, and that a Joint Defence Board inquiry had also recommended redeploying government troops based outside Nasir.
According to Eye Radio, Machar said he and three co-accused worked with officials, chiefs, elders and the UN Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS) to stop youth gathered at Kiech Kuon from raiding the oil-producing counties of Melut, Longechuk and Maban, and that a county commissioner peacefully dispersed about 3,000 young people gathered at Meer Chuai. The court adjourned until Wednesday 11 November, when Machar is due to continue.
The charges
Machar and seven co-defendants face charges including murder, conspiracy, terrorism, treason, destruction of public property and crimes against humanity. Prosecutors allege that SPLA-IO forces allied with the White Army killed 257 SSPDF soldiers, including Maj. Gen. David Majur Dak, in the March 2025 attack on the Nasir garrison, and destroyed or captured equipment worth about $58 million. Machar is under house arrest. His co-defendants, held at National Security Service facilities, are Puot Kang Chol, Mam Pal Dhuor, Gatwech Lam Puoch, Lt. Gen. Gabriel Duop Lam, Camilo Gatmai Kel, Mading Yak Riek and Dominic Gatgok Riek.
Image: Riek Machar in his office in Juba, June 2012. Hannah McNeish/VOA, via Wikimedia Commons, public domain.