More UPDF Troops Enter South Sudan

More Uganda People’s Defence Forces (UPDF) troops have been sent to South Sudan to support commandos who arrived in Juba last week under Operation ‘Mlinzi wa Kimya’.

Officials told ChimpReports on Tuesday that the “troops have been deployed to assist the South Sudan People’s Defence Forces (SSPDF) following rising tensions” between President Salva Kiir and First Vice President Riek Machar.

“UPDF Commandos arriving in Juba to support South Sudan People’s Defence Forces (SSPDF) in the current crisis,” the Chief of Defence Forces, Gen Muhoozi Kainerugaba, posted on X last week. His post included a video showing Special Forces Command troops alighting from a helicopter in South Sudan.

South Sudan’s current crisis bears striking similarities to the events leading to the 2015 civil war, when political disputes between Kiir and Machar escalated into full-scale fighting, displacing millions of people and leading to mass atrocities.

The recent battle for control of Nasir, where the White Army—a Nuer youth militia—overran SSPDF positions, has further heightened tensions.

The government has accused SPLM/A-IO of backing the offensive, leading to a security crackdown and mass arrests of opposition figures.

The UN Commission has compared the current situation to past conflicts, warning that South Sudan is on the verge of another war.

“What we are witnessing now is a return to the reckless power struggles that have devastated the country in the past,” said Commissioner Barney Afako.

The tensions escalated after clashes near the northern town of Nasir, putting the 2018 peace deal at risk.

The agreement ended a five-year civil war between Kiir and Machar’s forces, a conflict that killed nearly 400,000 people.

Gen Kainerugaba, who is also the Senior Presidential Advisor on Special Operations, warned last week that any action against Kiir would be considered a declaration of war on Uganda. “We the UPDF (Ugandan military) only recognise one President of South Sudan, H.E. Salva Kiir… Any move against him is a declaration of war against Uganda,” he posted on X.

Relatedly, the acting spokesperson of the UPDF told the press last week that the Ugandan military acted decisively by deploying troops in Juba following a request from the South Sudanese government.

Ugandan troops were first sent to South Sudan in 2013 when civil war erupted due to the power struggle between President Kiir and Machar.