By Bida Elly David and Taban Henry
President Salva Kiir Mayardit on Monday met with a team from the Agwelek faction to deliberate on the status of the security arrangements as well as its implementation as agreed upon in the Khartoum accord.
Agwelek Division is a break away Kit-gwang faction of the SPLM-SPLA-IO under the command of Gen. Johnson Olony.
The meeting was majorly aimed at briefing Agwelek advance delegation from Khartoum on the position of the Khartoum agreement in relation to their participation in the government and the graduation of the unified forces.
In 2021 South Sudan government and a splinter faction of the armed opposition movement (SPLA-IO) signed a peace deal to end the conflict in upper Nile.
The Khartoum peace agreement between South Sudan governments (SPLA-IG) and Agwelek forces came into effect on January 16.2021. The two parties as part of the peace deal agreed on political representation of the Agwelek forces both in the State and the National level.
They also agreed that Agwelek forces shall immediately and peacefully disengage and remained independent from the SPLA/A-IO mainstream with plans to have these forces integrated into South Sudan Peoples Defense Forces (SSPDF).
The agreement also stated that the two parties, Agwelek forces and SSPDF will recommit to maintain the current and existing ceasefire till the reintegration process are completed and agreed not to engage in any violence with any forces in the area of responsibility.
Speaking to the delegation during the meeting, President Kiir reiterated the positive move of the government towards the implementation of the peace agreement and said that soon it will be finalized.
Furthermore, President Kiir affirmed the delegation that the chapter of war has ended in South Sudan and urged Gen. Johnson Olony and the King of Shilluk Kingdom to come back to Juba and join the path of restoring the country towards peace and prosperity.
In their part, the delegation welcomed the President’s communiqué but urged him and the rest of the political parties to speed up the implementation of the agreement to free the country from war.
They added that Gen. Olony is currently waiting the day for the Khartoum agreement to be executed as agreed upon and if it overturns, then the process will delay.
They promised to extend the message of President Kiir to Gen. Olony and the Shilluk King that South Sudan needs peace and prosperity for its people thus they should come back home to collectively address the issues and move forward.
Kiir invites Olony to Juba
The President of the Republic of South Sudan Salva Kiir Maryardit on Monday renewed his call to the opposition rebel commander of the Agwelek forces Gen. Johnson Olony to embark on the peace process saying the chapter of the war has ended.
This came after President Salva Kiir Maryardit met with the advance delegation of the Agwelek Division under the command of Gen. Johnson Olony, breakaway Kit-Gwang faction of the SPLA-IO.
In a statement seen by No.1 Citizen Daily Newspaper from the Presidential official Facebook Page, President Salva Kiir Maryardit called on General Johnson Olony, deputy head of the SPLA-IO Kit-Gwang faction to come back home in order to embark on the peace process.
“I am urging Gen. Johnson Olony and the King of Shilluk Kingdom to Juba and join the path of restoring the country towards peace and prosperity in South Sudan,” Kiir told Agwelek advance team.
However the delegation said they will travel to Khartoum to take the message of H.E. the President to Gen. Johnson Olony and the Shilluk’s King, that South Sudan needs peace and prosperity for its people and they should come back home to collectively address the issues and move forward.
Earlier Gen. Simon Gatwech, head of the group, and Gen. Johnson Olony, commander of the Agwelek forces and deputy commander of the SPLA-IO Kit-Gwang faction, signed two separate agreements with President Salva Kiir’s faction in January 2022.
The agreement was meant to guarantees the implementation of the security arrangements, a permanent ceasefire, grants the Kit-Gwang faction amnesty, and reintegration of the SPLA-IO Kit-Gwang forces into the national army within three months among others.