{"id":44112,"date":"2026-04-23T15:30:37","date_gmt":"2026-04-23T13:30:37","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.onecitizendaily.com\/?p=44112"},"modified":"2026-04-23T15:30:37","modified_gmt":"2026-04-23T13:30:37","slug":"government-dismisses-allegations-of-forced-conscription","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.onecitizendaily.com\/index.php\/2026\/04\/23\/government-dismisses-allegations-of-forced-conscription\/","title":{"rendered":"Government dismisses allegations of forced conscription"},"content":{"rendered":"

By Chol D. Johnson<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

The government has dismissed reports alleging forced conscription of civilians into the national army amid ongoing conflict in parts of the country.<\/p>\n

Speaking to the media, Ateny Wek Ateny, Minister of ICT and Postal Services, denied claims that authorities are forcibly recruiting young people into the armed forces.<\/p>\n

\u201cI am not aware that there is any conscription in this country,\u201d Ateny said.<\/p>\n

He emphasised that joining the military remains voluntary, describing it as a civic duty for citizens willing to defend their country.<\/p>\n

\u201cJoining the army is voluntary for every citizen who is willing to serve and protect the nation,\u201d he added, noting that conscription would only be considered under exceptional circumstances involving national defense.<\/p>\n

The minister’s remarks come amid growing allegations from some communities and on social media claiming that civilians, particularly youth, are being forcefully recruited into the South Sudan People\u2019s Defence Forces (SSPDF).<\/p>\n

Ateny dismissed the claims, arguing that the current conflict situation does not justify forced recruitment.<\/p>\n

\u201cFighting within our own territory does not require forcing people to join the army. Forced recruitment is typically associated with defending the country against external threats,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

He further suggested that such allegations may be politically motivated, accusing critics of attempting to create instability.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt is those who want to put South Sudan into political limbo who are spreading such claims,\u201d he stated.<\/p>\n

Ateny also called on the media to uphold professional standards by verifying information before publication.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou cannot claim forced conscription without credible evidence, such as verified testimonies or documented cases,\u201d he urged.<\/p>\n

The allegations emerged following reports that SSPDF forces engaged in clashes with the Sudan People\u2019s Liberation Army in Opposition (SPLA-IO) in parts of the country had begun recruiting civilians in conflict-affected areas.<\/p>\n

However, the government maintains that no such forced recruitment policy exists.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Chol D. Johnson The government has dismissed reports alleging forced conscription of civilians into the national army amid ongoing conflict in parts of the country. Speaking to the media, Ateny Wek Ateny, Minister of ICT and Postal Services, denied claims that authorities are forcibly recruiting young people into the[Read More…]<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":44080,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[80,79],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-44112","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-national","category-news"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.onecitizendaily.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/The-Minister-of-ICT-Ateny-Wek-addressing-media-on-government-readiness-to-December-2026-election.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.onecitizendaily.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/44112","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.onecitizendaily.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.onecitizendaily.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.onecitizendaily.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.onecitizendaily.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=44112"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.onecitizendaily.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/44112\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":44113,"href":"https:\/\/www.onecitizendaily.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/44112\/revisions\/44113"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.onecitizendaily.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/44080"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.onecitizendaily.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=44112"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.onecitizendaily.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=44112"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.onecitizendaily.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=44112"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}