Africa-Press – South-Sudan. First Vice President Riek Machar has received yet another heavy blow with reports that about 100 soldiers have shifted allegiance, from his side to that of Simon Gatwech.
But the leaders of the South Sudan Liberation Movement Army in Opposition (SPLM/A-IO) trashed the defection talks, adding that no sane army officer can join a “weaker’ side like that of Kitgwang.
“We are not aware of that information at the moment, but to be sincere, our forces cannot join Gatwech Dual because they have already known the weakness of Gatwech,” Col. Lam Paul Gabriel, SPLM-IO military spokesperson, saying that no soldier had abandoned Machar for Gatwech.
Meanwhile, Simon Gach Thot, the Kitgwang faction’s military spokesperson, claimed that they had received a group of soldiers from the Machar side. The soldiers, according to Thot, were led by Brig Gen Khan Teny Pal and received by the Kitgwang zonal commander, Lt Gen Koang Ruot Luach.
“On March 29, 2023, the SPLA-IO KD under Zonal Commander Lt. Gen. Koang Ruot Luach received more than one hundred officers and NCOs led by Brig. Gen. Khan Teny Pal,” Gach said.
SPLM-IO, on the other hand, insists that they are currently preoccupied with important tasks, including the implementation of the peace agreement.
“Our forces know the agenda of the SPLM-IO, which is the implementation of the peace agreement,” said Col. Lam Paul.
Gach Thot claimed that the change of allegiance was necessitated by the “mistreatment of the soldiers in Upper Nile State.”
“They (soldiers) defected from SPLA-IO under Dr Riek Machar at Division 3, military barracks, Nyatot-Nasir County, under Division Command, Gen. Thomas Tut Riek,” he stated.
According to Gach, the officers and non-commissioned officers claimed that Machar had betrayed them by not taking care of their welfare.
“They (the soldiers) blamed their former leader, Dr Riek Machar, for betraying them and not caring for the lives of others who were at the cantonments for more than four years,” he continued.
Last month, the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) warned parties to the peace agreement against condoning defections and continuous armed mobilizations, arguing they contravene the dictates of the deal and threaten to roil the process.
The Security Council made the observation in its 9281 meeting, last month.
Since the signing of the peace agreement in 2018, several defections have taken place with military personnel changing allegiance, especially from the opposition to the government.
The UNSC told the parties to shun defections and armed mobilizations as part of a demonstration of their fidelity to the peace process.
“(UNSC) condemns the mobilization of armed groups by parties to the conflict and the encouragement of defections,” UNSC said in the statement.
Utilities
Since the signing of the peace agreement in 2018, several defections have taken place with military personnel changing allegiance, especially from the opposition to the government.
Source: The City Review South Sudan
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