Panyikang Commissioner Obur|Photo Credit-Malakal TV

The Spokesperson of the Upper Nile State Government has dismissed reports that the Commissioner of Panyikang County, James Obur, was killed following an alleged attack by SPLA-IO forces.

Peter Ngwojo Akwinj told Eye Radio that he spoke to the commissioner on Tuesday morning, confirming that he is alive and safe.

“I just want to confirm that I talked to the commissioner, James Obur. He is safe. This allegation of his death is baseless,” Ngwojo said.

Over the weekend, reports circulated on social media claiming that the Panyikang County commissioner had been killed during an alleged SPLA-IO attack in the area.

Ngwojo said the incident occurred in Tonga, while the commissioner is currently residing in Udong, the temporary headquarters of Panyikang County.

“The commissioner spoke to me this morning and confirmed he is alive,” he said. “The commissioner is in a different location, in the temporary headquarters in Udong, while the incident happened in Tonga.”

He added that the situation in both Tonga and Panyikang is now under control of the SSPDF after government forces retook the area.

“The situation in Panyikang and Tonga is under control of the SSPDF,” Ngwojo said.

The spokesperson urged the public to disregard what he described as false information circulating on social media, accusing SPLA-IO forces of spreading the reports to create fear.

“These rumours on social media were created by SPLA-IO after failing on the ground, and now they are trying to cause fear,” he said.