Fact-check: No, the group photo of army officers was not taken in South Sudan.

Writer: Ochaya Jackson

A group picture of army officers shared by the Sixty 4 Tribes Press Facebook page today, with a claim that a Senegalese army officer is training a rebel movement, the Equatoria People’s Liberation Movement/Army in South Sudan, is false and misleading. 

“A Senegalese Army officer has been identified as the training officer for the newly formed rebel movement in South Sudan, known as the Equatoria People’s Liberation Movement/Army, a truly empowering development for the youth,” reads part of the false claim paragraph.

Screenshot of the Facebook claim.

Verification:

211 Check conducted a Google reverse image search of the claimed army officers’ group photo and established that the picture was taken in Senegal (2016) of Senegalese soldiers alongside US Army personnel after participating in a “company-level combined arms live-fire exercise”, not in South Sudan.

Context:

According to a statement published on the US Army website in 2016, the army officers’ group photo involving both the Senegalese and US Army personnel came as a result of an annual U.S. Army Africa exercise dubbed “Africa Readiness Training 16”, which was conducted in Thiès, Senegal. 

Conclusion:

A group picture of army officers posted by the Sixty 4 Tribes Press Facebook page, with a claim that a Senegalese army officer has been identified training 100 soldiers of a rebel group called the Equatoria People’s Liberation Movement/Army, is false and misleading. The group photo was not only taken in South Sudan, but also shows the Senegalese and U.S. Army officers.

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