Araweelo News Network

This File photo shows South Sudan’s President Salva Kiir (L) nest to former military chief of staff Paul Malong. (Via AP)

Juba(ANN)-South Sudan has declared former military chief General Paul Malong a “rebel” and accused him of ordering opposition forces to attack government positions across the African country.

The government spokesman, Ateny Wek Ateny, said on Monday that Malong had been behind last week’s anti-government attacks, citing an audio recording obtained by intelligence services.

“Malong is a former chief of staff of the army but in accordance with the tape, he’s a rebel. The government and the security committee will come with an appropriate response,” the spokesman told a news conference in the capital, Abuja.

Malong’s wife has denied it was her husband speaking on the tape and dismissed the accusations as baseless.

“This audio is a fake audio recording,” she told Reuters by phone. “Every time government is accusing him that he wants to launch an attack, which is not true.”

Malong had been one of President Salva Kiir’s closest allies before he was fired in May and put under house arrest. In November, he was granted permission to leave the country on medical grounds.

Malong, who had led Kiir’s campaign against rebels, fled the capital for his home state of Aweil after his dismissal, raising the possibility he might join opposition forces.

The South Sudanese government and opposition groups reached a ceasefire deal in the Ethiopian capital Addis Ababa last month, aiming to end the four-year-old war in which tens of thousands of people have lost their lives. The ceasefire has, however, seen multiple violations so far.

South Sudan has been gripped by conflict since the president’s main deputy and current opposition leader Riek Machar defected in December 2013 over allegations of plotting a coup.

Machar was forced into exile in South Africa, but forces loyal to him still operate in Pagak and other regions of the world’s youngest country.

The war spread across South Sudan with the collapse of a peace agreement in 2015, leaving many in poverty and despair.

The United Nations says nearly six million people, around half of South Sudan’s population, are in urgent need of humanitarian assistance.