SPLA Capture Kapoeta

The Sudanese People’s Liberation Army (SPLA) has captured the strategic garrison town of Kapoeta in Eastern Equatoria. The battle began on the evening of 8th June, when the SPLA overran all 11 outposts around the town. At dawn on Sunday, 9th June, the main enemy garrison was stormed and fell by 9:15am.

As Kapoeta was the administrative headquarters of the Eastern Equatoria state, and as it was defended by a well-equipped garrison of 3000 troops, equipped with tanks, artillery and a wide assortment of light and medium support weapons, this defeat is a serious blow to the National Islamic Front government.

The SPLA report having killed at least 200 Arab troops, including the garrison commander, Brigadier Salah Ahmed Hassan el-Haj, for the loss of 13 SPLA troops. Other NIF soldiers were captured, with the rest fleeing in disarray into the bush. The SPLA reported having captured large quantities of artillery, rocket launchers, mortars, armoured fighting vehicles, trucks, weapons and large quantities of ammunition.

The capture of Kapoeta, whose trenches and roads are now littered with empty shell cases, decomposing corpses, burnt-out vehicles and other debris of war, has given the SPLA control of the Kenya border region to the South and the means to cut key off key government supply lines to another outlying besieged government garrison town, Torit.

The SPLA pointed out that the church in Kapoeta was dismantled and the bricks were used to build a mosque and military fortifications. The SPLA Chairman, John Garang, said: ”We used maximum surprise and maximum speed. This is a major disaster for the government of Sudan and a major victory for the SPLA.”

This successful SPLA operation comes after 3 months of offensives by the NIF government. The government of Sudan launched their largest offensive in 10 years in Western Upper Nile, bombing civilian targets and attempting to capture Kurmuk, Yabus and Geiszan. Geiszan was captured by the NIF recently. The NIF government forces have also been attacking in Bar-El-Gazal, attempting to advance from Wau to Gogrial, attacking and plundering villages along the way. There has also been as escalation of bombing of civilian centres in Eastern Equatoria. This kind of intense activity is unusual at this time of year, during the rainy season, when travel by mechanised forces is complicated by the rough roads being turned to mud.

Dr. Peter Hammond

Related Resources:-
Terrorism and Persecution (video)
Sudan, the Hidden Holocaust (video)
Faith under Fire in Sudan (book)