Kit-Gwang advance team arrives in Juba to implement security arrangement with govt

Leader of breakaway’s Sudan People Liberation Movement/ Army (SPLM/A-IO) Kitgwang, Gen. Simon Gatwech Dual dispatched advance military team which arrived in Juba on Tuesday ahead of his returning to the country.

The delegation said they came to implement the agreement signed by the government and SPLM/IO Kitgwang faction last month.

The peace agreement which was signed in Khartoum between the government and the SPLM-IO Kit-Gwang group led by Gen. Simon Gatwech provided a roadmap for integration of Kit-Gwang forces into the national army.

Morris Samuel Orach is the deputy spokesperson. He said more than thirty members of their officer have come to Juba to implement the security arrangements.

“We were sent by Gen. Simon Gatwech and Johnson Olony to witness the agreement we signed in Khartoum on the 16th of Last month. We came with hope that the agreement will move quickly to end the suffering of South Sudanese, especially those in Upper Nile,”Samuel said

He added that the Agwelek forces were fighting for the land issue in Upper Nile and the recent agreement stipulated the revitalized agreement that stated the internal boundaries of the South Sudanese tribe would be based on the 1st of January 1956 boundaries.

The Presidential Advisor on National Security Affairs, Tut Gatluak, who mediated the deal, said the arrival of the Kitgwang advance team signifies government effort to maintain peace and protect the lives of South Sudanese people.

He said the government is committed to implement the peace agreement signed with SPLM-IO Kitgwang and Agwelek factions to ensure citizens enjoy peace and freedom.

“There is no new agreement, but all the signed agreements are in place, and the Kitgwang some of them are now in the government. We hope citizens shall enjoy freedom,” he said

This year, the agreement signed in January granted the Kitgwang forces an assembling area in Manyo, Southern Malakal, and Eastern Jonglei. And the government agreed to allocate political positions for SPLM-IO Kitwang and Agwelek political leaders.

President Salva Kiir granted amnesty to Agwelek and Kit-Gwang forces of the SPLM/A –IO splinter group a week after signing the deal to pave the way for its implementation.