The ''Kitgwang Declaration'' was a coup by

South Sudanese South Sudan is home to around 60 indigenous ethnic groups and 80 linguistic partitions among a population of around million. Historically, most ethnic groups were lacking in formal Western political institutions, with land held by the communit ...

rebel commander

Simon Gatwech Dual Simon Gatwech Dual (also spelled Simon Gatwitch) is a Sudanese rebel Major General who was born in around the late 1930s in what is today Uror County, Jonglei state, South Sudan. Politics He joined the Sudan People's Liberation Movement (SPLM) ...

on August 4, 2021, in which he replaced First Vice President Riek Machar as leader of the Sudan People's Liberation Movement/Army in Opposition leading to a deadly rebel fighting Since 2014, Gatwech has been the military chief of staff of the SPLM/SPLA (IO) and has grown hostile against Machar since the signing of the revitalized peace agreement in 2018.

Background

Since the return of Machar to Juba from exile to form a unity government with President

Salva Kiir Mayardit Salva Kiir Mayardit (born 13 September 1951), also known as Salva Kiir, is a South Sudanese politician who has been the President of South Sudan since its independence on 9 July 2011. Prior to independence, he was the President of the Governmen ...

in February 2020, Dual has been speaking out against his boss for 'compromising' key provisions of the revitalized peace agreement signed in 2018 such as the security arrangements in which rival forces of the opposition and the government were to be unified to form a professional national army. In October 2020, Gatwech wrote to the

IGAD The Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD) is an eight-country trade bloc in Africa. It includes governments from the Horn of Africa, Nile Valley and the African Great Lakes. It is headquartered in Djibouti. Member states ;Horn of ...

, the regional bloc which mediated the peace agreement that ended the war with Machar's appointment as first vice president in February 2020, asking for Machar's release in order to enable him to and brief his forces over the implementation of the peace agreement. The IGAD later on issued a statement saying there were no restrictions in place against Machar and that the South Sudanese vice president was free to visit anywhere of his choice. A few days later, Gatwech accused Machar of intentionally refusing to visit him and in June, an attempt to remove the opposition's military intelligence chief, Dhiling Keah Chuol, by Gatwech let to a rumored removal of Gatwech as chief of staff. Days later, President Kiir appointed Gatwech as presidential envoy on peace after nomination by Machar. Machar's office later on announced that Gatwech had been replaced as chief of staff of the opposition military deepening the disagreements within the group.

The Declaration

On August 4, 2021, Gatwech issued a communiqué following a meeting of opposition commanders at Kitgwang in Magenis, a northern-most town bordering Sudan, declaring that Machar had been removed as the leader of the SPLM-IO and that he has assumed power as the new opposition leader. Machar responded with another communiqué following a meeting of the SPLM-IO Political Bureau in Juba, the capital of South Sudan, and then accused unnamed "peace spoilers" of engineering the opposition split.

Resulting fighting

On August 7, forces from the Tiger Battalion allied to Machar launched an attack on Gatwech's position in Magenis sparking fierce fighting that resulted in the killing of at least 28 soldiers from both sides. There were also unconfirmed reports of the killing of two senior SPLA-IO commanders allied to Machar.

References

{{reflist South Sudanese activists Peace processes