A top South Sudanese military (SSPDF) officer and 30 others defected to the National Salvation Front (NAS) on Thursday last week, a spokesperson for the hold-out group disclosed in a statement.

“The National Salvation Front (NAS) military command in Central Equatoria State has received South Sudan People’s Defense Forces (SSPDF) Brigadier Hillary Edson T. Yakani, with thirty (30) other ranks on 29th September 2022,” Suba Samuel Manase, the spokesperson for NAS said in a Friday.

The hold-out group described the defections as “timely”, adding “and it demonstrates that the people of South Sudan are responding to the NAS call for people’s led revolution against systematic domination and oppression by the SPLM [Sudan Peoples’ Liberation Movement] minority elites in Juba”.

It accused the regime in Juba of “injustices” against members of the national army.

“NAS leadership there, directs NAS military command on the ground to make necessary arrangements to ensure urgent integration of these new officers and men into the ranks and files of NAS/Army”, further noted the statement.

The SSPDF spokesman Lul Ruai Koang could not immediately be reached for comment.