Bentiu community in Kenya expresses shock over death of senior army commander

May 15, 2020 News, Newsbeat, South Sudan

South Sudan senior army general Lt. Gen. Liah Diu Deng in Unity state’s Bentiu in 2013 (Photo credit: Facebook)

May 15, 2020 (SSNN) – The Bentiu community in Kenya has expressed shock after the surprise demise of a senior army general on Wednesday hailing him for his role in the Liberation struggle.

On Wednesday, Lieutenant General Liah Diu Deng, a senior army officer and former director of Unity state’s prison service, passed on in the Sudanese capital Khartoum where he was awaiting to go to Egypt for treatment.

“Yesterday the 13th May 2020, we at the Liech Community Association in Kenya (LCAK) received the sad news of the passing on of one of our great Defenders, commander Liah Diu Deang with great shock and sorrow,” the Bentiu community, officially known as Liech Community in Kenya, said in a statement extended to South Sudan News Now on Thursday.

“Lt. Gen. Liah Diu Deang spent most of his life in the cause of the South Sudanese Liberation struggles since the Anya’anya times. His untimely departure is a great lost for the struggling Liech community members and our nascent country South Sudan as a whole,” the statement added.

The statement signed by the organization’s chairman Dak Buoth Riek-Gaak highlighted the senior army general’s role during the liberation struggle saying he left behind a legacy that will never be forgotten.

“Legendary commander Liah Diu Deang respectably known as ‘Gatdiu’ is one of the highly principled elder sons who had never wavered. He left legacy of an immense love and patriotism for the people of Liech community and the country of South Sudan that he selflessly and tirelessly worked for,” the statement said.

“Despite his departure at last through illness in Khartoum Sudan, we thank the Almighty God for saving his life in all the battles he spearheaded in defense of life and dignity. We shall do everything possible to honor his name as distinguish champion in Unity State and beyond,” it added.