SPLA denies preparing to take Juba

The rebel Sudan People's Liberation Movement/Army (SPLM/A) has denied recent media reports that it is intending to attack and seize Juba - the largest city in southern Sudan's Equatoria region - from the government.

SPLA spokesman Samson Kwaje told IRIN on Monday his group had no plans to attack Juba, and was instead concentrating on the defence of Torit, a strategic southern town about 100 km southeast of Juba, which it captured from government forces on 1 September.

"We don't have plans for Juba," he said. We are just maintaining defences around Torit. They [government troops] have vowed to recapture it from us. We are waiting for them."

Kwaje also dismissed claims by the Khartoum government that the SPLA had received support from the Lord's Resistance Army (LRA), a Ugandan rebel group which at one time was supported by the Sudanese government and operated from bases in southern Sudan.

"The LRA are our enemies," Kwaje said. "They [Sudan government] just want to explain away their failure to defend Torit. They are now linking us with LRA. But LRA are their friends."

The SPLA's capture of Torit prompted government negotiators to walk out of talks that were underway in Kenya last week. Sudanese President Umar al Bashir ordered "a general mobilisation" of the army to retake the town.

Meanwhile, UN sources told IRIN on Monday that the UN had "temporarily" relocated 17 of its 55 staff from Juba to Khartoum. They were awaiting an assessment of the security situation in Juba, before returning to their work station.

However the remaining 38 staff, as well as other nongovernmental organisations, are still in Juba and are continuing with "normal operations".