South Sudan commander defects to rebels

MOYO: A South Sudanese military commander said he had defected with more than 200 soldiers to the country’s largest rebel group, amid a showdown between President Salva Kiir and his former military chief.

Lt. Col. Chan Garang, an ally of former army chief Paul Malong, defected to join the largest rebel group fighting Kiir, he said. All three men are ethnic Dinkas and any split within the powerful group could represent a threat to Kiir.

The four-year civil war has split the country into a patchwork of fiefdoms, created Africa’s biggest refugee crisis in two decades and led to ethnic cleansing. A third of the 12 million-strong population has fled their homes and half are dependent on food aid.

In May, Kiir fired Malong, whom UN investigators accused of directing ethnic militias responsible for the rape, torture and murder of civilians. Malong, who is also on a US sanctions list, briefly fled north but returned to the capital, where he has been under house arrest ever since.

Over the weekend, Kiir’s troops surrounded Malong’s house in Juba and unsuccessfully attempted to disarm his bodyguards. An armed standoff continues outside his house.

Garang is the first Malong loyalist to join the rebels. Garang said he defected because allies of Malong’s were being badly treated, troops had not been paid for seven months and other tribes were being discriminated against.

“I left Juba because when are you are a supporter of Paul Malong, you will be arrested,” Garang told Reuters via satellite phone.