BREAKING | SPLA-IO sector commanders disown Gatwech, reaffirm loyalty to Machar

BREAKING | SPLA-IO sector commanders disown Gatwech, reaffirm loyalty to Machar

In a statement this evening to respond to General Gatwech’s declaration, opposition commanders of sector two, three and four, said they condemn the move which they describe as a plot to jeopardize the implementation of the revitalized peace agreement and reaffirmed their support for Machar.

A number of sector commanders of the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement/Army in Opposition (SPLM/A-IO) have issued a joint statement disowning the group’s former army chief General Simon Gatwech Dual who on Tuesday dismissed First Vice President Dr. Riek Machar Teny as the group’s chairman before declaring himself the interim leader of the group.

Yesterday, General Simon Gatwech declared himself the leader of the main armed opposition group and appointed General Johnson Olony Thabo, the group’s sector one commander, as his deputy and said SPLM-IO Political Bureau and National Liberation Council were dissolved.

General Gatwech who also reiterated his intention to continue the implementation of the revitalized peace agreement with President Salva Kiir Mayardit if the government in Juba is to recommit to the implementation of the 2018 peace agreement, then ordered all SPLM-IO members who defected because of bad leadership by Machar to return to the SPLM/A-IO.

“Sector 4 and Division 3 Leadership convened and Emergency Meeting in MANDENG GENERAL HEADQUARTER this morning in response to disgusting elements led by General Simon Gatwech Dual’s desperate decision in Magenis, Fashoda Area,” they said in a statement extended to Sudans Post.

“We strongly condemned and denounced Former SPLA-IO Chief of General Staff General Simon Gatwech Dual and his disgusting group. We categorized General Simon Gatwech Dual group decision with the same formula as General Taban Deng Gai in 2016,” the brief statement adds.

The statement signed by General Peter Thok Chuol, the SPLA-IO’s sector four commander, and Major-General Thomas Tut Rik, the SPLA-IO’s division three commander, further “reaffirmed our full support and loyalty to SPLM/A-IO under Supreme Chairman and Commander in Chief Dr. Riek Machar Teny-Dhurgon.”