(JUBA) – A 91 year old Israeli veteran who helped supply and train southern Sudanese fighters during the first civil war has been awarded the honorary rank of General in the South Sudan People’s Defence Forces. The ceremony took place Thursday at the State House in Juba.
David Uri Ben-Uziel, known during the war by his cover name “John,” worked with the Anyanya One movement in the 1960s and 1970s. He helped set up links between the rebel movement and Israel, opening channels for medicine, uniforms, communications gear and other supplies to reach fighters in the bush. Officials said he also crossed large parts of southern Sudan on foot to help rebel units coordinate with each other and with local communities.
President Salva Kiir placed Ben-Uziel on the army’s non active list, a ceremonial move that carries no command duties. Kiir himself fought in the Anyanya ranks, making the award a personal gesture as well as a state honour.
The President said the rank reflects the country’s gratitude to foreign friends who stood with the people of southern Sudan during the long struggle for self rule. He added that the ties formed in those years remain an important part of the relationship between South Sudan and Israel.
Ben-Uziel told the gathering that the resilience of the southern Sudanese people had stayed with him as a source of inspiration. He said it had been a privilege to take part, however he could, in their pursuit of freedom.
The recognition shines a light on a chapter of liberation history that is little known outside the region. It comes more than fifty years after Ben-Uziel first joined the southern fighters and more than a decade after South Sudan won independence in 2011.