John Wiyual Kuac, Interim Committee Chairman of the SPLM-IO faction in Australia has defected to South Sudan First Vice President Taban Deng Gai’s group, accusing Riek Machar of supporting war and violence in the country.

Speaking to Radio Tamazuj on Friday, Wiyual stated he supports peace and stability under Kiir government, saying his interim committee comprises of 15 members representing over 100 SPLM-IO supporters across Australia.

Meanwhile, James Simon Jok, deputy head of the SPLM-IO interim committee, said they defected to Taban Deng’s faction for the sake of peace and stability in South Sudan.

“Our position is that we don’t want war in South Sudan, the people are suffering, they are still in the UN camps, we want to give peace a chance, “said Simon.

“We support Taban Deng Gai because he is a man of peace, our message is peace, so we defected from those who call for war,” he added.

The opposition official claimed that they have supporters from six states in Australia. He called on the SPLM-IO members to support peace so development projects can reach rural areas in South Sudan.

File photo: Taban Deng