SPLA-IO spokesman says defection of top commander violates peace deal

JUBA – The spokesman of the Sudan People’s Liberation Army in Opposition (SPLA-IO) has said that today’s defection of senior SPLA-IO commander in Western Equatoria state to join the South Sudan People’s Defense Forces (SSPDF) is a violation of the revitalized peace agreement signed by President Salva Kiir and First Vice President Dr. Riek Machar Teny in 2018.

In a statement on Sunday, former SPLA-IO chief of administration for Anyanya division in Easter Equatoria state Brigadier General Solomon Peter Angelo announced that he has joined the SSPDF accusing First Vice President Dr. Riek Machar Teny of leadership failure saying the main armed opposition leader does not care about his forces who he said are starving to death.

“Having observed with grave concerns political and military fragmentation within SPLA/M (IO) for a long time; it has now come to our genuine conclusion that SPLM/A-IO is no longer relevant with political realities for which it was formed. The SPLM/A-IO has lost direction and command of the forces,” he said in a statement detailed his defection.

“It’s therefore, against this backdrop, in the interest of implementation of Sept 12 / 2018 agreement and in the Spirit of ensuring stability and our love for our country of South Sudan that we are hereby declaring our defection from the SPLM/A-IO with effect from September 07, 2021,” he added.

Reacting to General Angelo’s defection, SPLA-IO spokesman Colonel Lam Paul Gabriel said the defection by the senior opposition officer is a violation of the revitalized peace agreement and accused him of being impatient as the senior commander is among the joint forces set to be graduated and deployed to important towns in the near future.

“His defection from Rambur Training Center in Juba to SSPDF in Lirya is not right. First of all, he is among the first batch of which if they graduated, they would be the first people to administer this South Sudan but now he has returned himself backward. Even if he goes elsewhere, these forces will still be unified so this is not good. It is a violation of the peace agreement,” Col. Lam said, according to Radio Tamazuj.

“This is a clear violation, it is not good. I know there are conditions in different barracks and centers; there is hunger, suffering, and death. It is not only our soldiers there but even government soldiers are also suffering. If you want peace, patience is good. Suffering is everywhere and there is no happy South Sudanese, we are all suffering as soldiers and civilians. This is a big violation,” he added.