Six personnel from South Sudan’s Air Force told reporters in Addis Ababa that they have joined the SPLM/SPLA in opposition as of 13th September. The defected personnel include Pilots and aircraft technicians. They took the action thereby joining the rebels that have been fighting the government for the past ten months.
“Training opportunities for South Sudanese joining the Air Force does not reflect diversity and there is also a poor promotion policy. In addition, there is a limited and selective training which is based on ethnicity,” the defectors said on Saturday.
The six defectors also attribute their actions to poor maintenance and services of aircraft. They claimed two-thirds of the fleet is grounded due to corrupt practices. They also claimed the Air Force was extensively used to transport soldiers involved in the killing of innocent civilians when the crisis broke out in December last year.
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