South Sudan’s First Vice-President, Riek Machar, has condemned the group of generals within the military wing of his Sudan People’s Liberation Movement In Opposition (SPLM-IO), who announced his ouster from the party’s leadership.
On Tuesday, three generals said they had deposed Mr Machar and replaced him with the former SPLA-IO Chief of General Staff, Simon Gatwech Dual, as an interim leader of the party and commander-in-chief of the forces, a new twist in South Sudan’s politics.
Mr Machar had dismissed Mr Gatwech from his position as chief of staff and recommended his appointment as Presidential Advisor for Peace, but Mr Gatwech rejected the appointment.
The vice-president said the people behind the attempted ouster “peace spoilers” in a press release.
He said the declaration was aimed at derailing the graduation and deployment of the unified forces after the reconstituted parliament was sworn in.
Mr Machar reiterated the commitment of his party to the full implementation of the revitalised peace agreement “in letter and spirit”.
