South Sudan army admits holding ‘prisoners of war’

File photo: SPLA chief of general staff James Ajongo

South Sudan’s army, the Sudan People's Liberation Army (SPLA), has officially admitted for the first time it is holding prisoners of war captured during four years of conflict.

Santo Domic, SPLA's military deputy spokesperson, told Radio Tamazuj on Monday that they are holding a number of prisoners of war. However, he declined to mention the number of the war prisons in their detention centers across the country.

He pointed out that arrangements are in place to know the total number of those detained.” The prisoners of war are alive. We don’t kill a soldier captured during fighting. But I don’t know their number now,” he said.

South Sudanese opposition groups that participated in the recent revitalization process claimed the government is holding 500 political detainees and prisoners of war, but presidential spokesman Ateny Wek Ateny said they had no political prisoners.

Article 8 of the cessation of hostilities deal says each party should unconditionally release all prisoners of war, political detainees and abducted women and children to the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) without delay.