In 2021, Gatwech broke away from the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement Army-In Opposition (SPLM/A-IO) and appointed himself head of the “Kit Gwang” faction.
By James Chatim
South Sudan government has reached an agreement with one of the armed groups, led by General Simon Gatwech Dual, to mitigate the conflict in the country.
General Gatwech, the leader of the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement in Opposition (SPLM-IO) Kitgwang faction, reached signed a pact with the government delegation, led by General Akec Tong Aleu, the Director General of Internal Security Bureau (ISB).
According to a statement from the Sudan embassy in South Sudan released on Tuesday, the peace process was conducted first on January and then in the beginning of February 2025 in Port Sudan.
“As peace is right to all people without exemption, we consider peace in the Republic of South Sudan as peace to both countries and a connected brotherhood. And to reassure our mediation for 2018 Revitalized Peace Agreement,” the statement reads, adding:
“The government of Sudan initiated the peace process between General Simon Gatwech Dual and the Government of South Sudan delegation, led by the 1st Lt. General Akec Tong Aleu, the Director General of Internal Security Bureau. The peace process was conducted in two phases, between January and the beginning of February 2025 in Port Sudan, to end the long conflict,”
“We thank General Simon Gatwech Dual for his commitment to the peace process to end the conflict. We appreciate the government of the Republic of South Sudan for joining the peace processes with faith. This reflects the trust in South Sudan political leadership with the statement by President Kiir not to see the country go to war again.”
In 2021, Gatwech broke away from the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement Army-In Opposition (SPLM/A-IO) and appointed himself head of the “Kit Gwang” faction.
In 2022, the “Kit Gwang” faction signed a peace agreement with the government of South Sudan on January 16, 2022. The Khartoum Peace Agreement, guarantees the implementation of security arrangements and a permanent ceasefire, and grants the “Kit Gwang” faction amnesty and integration of its forces into the national army.
The agreement was signed by President Salva Kiir’s then security advisor Tut Gatluak, the former Director-General of the National security’s Internal Security Bureau, Akol Koor, and ex-SSPDF Military Intelligence Director General Stephen Marshal on behalf of the South Sudan government while Gen. Simon Gatwech Dual and his deputy at the time, Gen. Johnson Olony, signed the deal on behalf of their SPLM/A-IO breakaway Kitgwang faction.
Meanwhile, General Samshedin al Kabashi of the Sudan Supreme Council signed as a guarantor and mediator.
However, the Khartoum agreement between the government and the Kitgwang faction faced obstacles in its implementation, after which, General Gatwech decided to be returned to the armed opposition.
The pact between the two parties, although not revealed fully to the public, could mitigate the prevalent conflicts in the country, and move a step further to bringing cohesion in South Sudan.
“As peace is right to all people without exemption, we consider peace in the Republic of South Sudan as peace to both countries and a connected brotherhood,” statement from Sudan embassy in South Sudan said.