SPLM-IO urged to address internal rifts, recommit to peace implementation

JUBA – The Reconstituted Joint Monitoring and Evaluation Commission (RJMEC) has called on the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement in Opposition (SPLM-IO) to address the internal division crippling the party and return to active peace implementation.

Maj. Gen. George Aggrey Owinow, the Interim Chairperson of RJMEC, implored the embattled opposition group in a meeting with the reconstituted High-Level ad-hoc Committee on the Implementation of the Revitalised Agreement on the Resolution of the Conflict in South Sudan held on 30^th June 2025.

In a statement released Tuesday, RJMEC underscored the need to preserve the progress made throughout the implementation period, including the full participation of all parties that signed the agreement.

“The Interim Chairperson observed the need to safeguard the gains made in the last six years of the R-ARCSS and shared his concerns about the challenges facing the Agreement, including limited timeframes for implementation, lack of predictable funding to Agreement mechanisms, the prevailing political and security situation, and the resultant divisions within SPLM-IO,” read the statement in part.

“In this regard, the RJMEC Interim Chairperson urged the SPLM/A-IO to resolve their differences using internal structures to ensure their active participation in the implementation of the Revitalised Peace Agreement,” it added.

The SPLM-IO has been a troubled party since the arrest and detention of its Chairman, Dr. Riek Machar, in March following armed confrontations between the South Sudan People’s Defence Force (SSPDF) and the White Army, which led to the killing of Maj. Gen. Majur Dak in Nasir County.

Machar’s detention, together with many of his senior party members, has fragmented the SPLM-IO. On 19^th April 2025, Stephen Par Kuol, who serves as the Minister of Peacebuilding in the Revitalised Government of National Unity, formed a parallel party structure and declared himself an interim chairman pending Machar’s release.

Despite strong opposition to the move by Machar’s loyalists, the High-Level ad-hoc Committee led by controversial SPLM hardliner and Minister of Cabinet Affairs, Martin Elia, endorsed Par’s faction and accorded them “full rights to fill gaps in the High-Level Committee or any mechanism”.

Without explicitly acknowledging the aforementioned development, the RJMEC Interim Chairperson encouraged the High-Level ad-hoc Committee to expedite the review of the status of Roadmap implementation, emphasising the importance of identifying priority pending tasks under the R-ARCSS to be accomplished within the remaining Transitional Period ahead of the December 2026 elections.