long march north
... that deserters from the South Sudanese army embarked on a long march north, across the border into Sudan, to escape their former comrades?
... that deserters from the <a class="mw-redirect" href="./Sudan_People's_Liberation_Army" id="mwAUw" rel="mw:WikiLink" title="Sudan People's Liberation Army">South Sudanese army</a> embarked on a <b id="mwAU0"><a href="./2014_retreat_from_Western_Bahr_el_Ghazal" id="mwAU4" rel="mw:WikiLink" title="2014 retreat from Western Bahr el Ghazal">long march north</a></b>, across the border into <a href="./Sudan" id="mwAU8" rel="mw:WikiLink" title="Sudan">Sudan</a>, to escape their former comrades?