About 11 senior members of the SPLM-IO faction including generals from Bahr al Ghazal allied to former first vice president and rebel leader Riek Machar have defected and joined Taban Deng’s faction in Juba.
Speaking to reporters at the Juba International Airport today, Ateny Wek Ateny, South Sudan’s presidential spokesperson, who received the defectors, said that he welcomed them back home on behalf of the presidency.
“We have come to the Juba international airport to come and receive a number of senior members of the SPLM/A IO, the faction of Riek Machar, who actually returned to the country in responses to the recently launched dialogue by the president of the republic,” said Ateny.
“It is good to table your grievances instead of doing them through arms struggle. The recently launched national dialogue is to bring the country back to normalcy and listen to the grievances of whoever has against the government of South Sudan led by President Salva Kiir,” he added.
For his part, Sebit John Magok, head of the delegation and former chairperson of the SPLM-IO committee for roads and bridges, said that they decided to return to join the national dialogue called for by President Kiir for the sake of peace in South Sudan.
“We came back to Juba actually to implement the initiative made by the president for the national dialogue because national dialogue is the only way to overcome the challenges and bring peace,” said Magok.
“We are ready to work together hand in hand with the authority in the country in particular President Salva Kiir Mayardit and Gen. Taban Deng Gai for the sake of peace and rescues the ordinary citizen,” he added.
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