South Sudan Rebel Faction Withdraws from Port Sudan Peace Deal
A South Sudanese rebel faction has announced its withdrawal from a peace agreement signed with the government a year ago, accusing authorities in Juba of violating the deal and resuming attacks on its forces.
In a letter dated 2 February 2026, General Simon Gatwech Dual, leader of the SPLM/A-IO Kit-Gwang faction, declared the group’s formal exit from the Port Sudan Peace Agreement signed on 2 February 2025.
The letter was addressed to Sudan’s Sovereign Council President Gen. Abdel Fattah al-Burhan and copied to Sudanese intelligence chief Ahmed Ibrahim Mufadal, the agreement’s guarantor, as well as South Sudanese President Salva Kiir and the country’s Internal Security Bureau, according to a copy seen by Radio Tamazuj.
Agreement ‘not implemented’
The Port Sudan deal was signed in Port Sudan between the Kit-Gwang faction and the South Sudanese government, with Sudan acting as guarantor. It set out a 12-month implementation timeline, including the integration of Kit-Gwang forces into the South Sudan People’s Defence Forces (SSPDF) and the appointment of Gatwech as Deputy Commander-in-Chief of the army.
Gatwech said an advance team from the faction travelled to Juba shortly after the signing to begin talks on implementation. However, he claimed that a year later “not a single provision” of the agreement had been implemented and that the government failed to officially engage with the advance team.
He accused authorities of taking unilateral actions, including dismissing the agreement’s focal person and launching attacks on Kit-Gwang cantonment areas.
Ceasefire collapse alleged
In the letter, Gatwech said the alleged violations amounted to a collapse of the ceasefire, accusing government forces of targeting Kit-Gwang fighters and civilians in Jonglei State. He also claimed the advance team had been prevented from consultations for nearly a year.
Gatwech further said his forces, together with other opposition groups, captured Pajut in northern Jonglei on 16 January, forming a new alliance known as the Joint Opposition Movements Forces.
Roots of the split
The rebel leader traced the current tensions to a split within the main SPLM/A-IO in August 2021, accusing the government of exploiting divisions within the opposition by signing separate peace agreements with different factions.
He also accused the government of fuelling ethnic tensions in Upper Nile and Equatoria states. The South Sudanese government has not yet responded publicly to Gatwech’s announcement.
Who is Gen. Simon Gatwech Dual?
Gen. Simon Gatwech Dual served as Chief of Staff of the SPLA-IO from 2014. After the 2018 peace agreement, he refused to travel to Juba, citing a lack of progress on security arrangements.
In 2021, President Kiir appointed him as a presidential peace advisor, but Gatwech rejected the offer. In August 2021, Gatwech issued the Kit-Gwang Declaration after a meeting of commanders in Magenis, Upper Nile State, announcing he had removed Dr. Riek Machar as leader of the SPLM/A-IO and naming Gen. Johnson Olony as his deputy.
The Kit-Gwang faction later signed a peace deal with the government in Khartoum in January 2022. Relations between Gatwech and Olony later deteriorated, leading to clashes before Olony returned to Juba. In February 2025, Gatwech signed a new agreement with the government that included provisions for integrating his forces into the national army and appointing him as Deputy Commander-in-Chief of the SSPDF.