Celebrations took place at the national stadium in Juba on Saturday as South Sudan marked the 43rd anniversary of the creation of the Sudan People’s Liberation Army.
The founding of the SPLA in 1983 saw the start of Sudan’s second civil war which ultimately led to South Sudan’s independence in July 2011.
It the first commemoration since the start of the 2013 conflict between the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement (SPLM) government and the SPLM-in-opposition.
“On this day, we remember the brave forces of Battalion 105, who fired the first bullet. And that began our revolution,” President Salva Kiir Mayardit told the gathered crowds.
“As we mark the 43rd anniversary of our movement today, we also remember the sacrifices of our martyrs, who gave their lives during the long struggle.”
The commemoration comes amid renewed clashes between the army and forces loyal to Kiir’s long-time rival and former First Vice-President Riek Machar, stirring fears of a return to civil war.
Addressing the gathering, the chief of the South Sudan People’s Defence Forces, Santino Deng Wol, said they did not want to “hear the bullet anywhere”.
“We don’t want random fighting, and I want to assure the people of South Sudan that I will provide you with security and protect our border,” he said.
The 2013 to 2018 civil war between Kiir and Machar’s forces ended in a peace deal which saw the creation of a unity government which has been unravelling over the past year.
Machar was detained by Kiir’s forces and placed under house arrest in Juba in March last year. He was subsequently suspended as vice-president.
In September, he was charged with murder, treason, and crimes against humanity relating to a March attack by a militia allegedly linked to him, which killed 250 soldiers and a general.
His party, the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement/Army In Opposition (SPLM/A-IO), has denounced the charges as a “political witch-hunt”.
