The office of South Sudan\u2019s First Vice-President, Riek Machar, says he has received calls from the generals who defected last week from the military wing of the Sudan People\u2019s Liberation Movement in Opposition (SPLM-IO).<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Gen Johnson Olony informed Mr Machar about their group\u2019s acceptance of the ceasefire, SPLM-IO’s communication director said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Mr Machar emphasised the need to peacefully resolve the incident that took place in Magenis in Upper Nile State, the director added.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Over the weekend clashes between the two factions saw at least 34 soldiers killed from both sides, according to local media.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
SPLM-IO’s communication director Puok Both Baluang said Mr Machar and Gen Olony agreed to maintain contact.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The BBC could not independently verify this information as contact with the defected faction could not be established.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Early last week, three generals from the SPLM-IO announced that they had deposed Mr Machar and replaced him with the former Chief of Staff, Gen Simon Gatwech Dual and wanted Mr Machar step down as first vice-president.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
But Mr Machar said the attempt to remove him was supported by “peace spoilers”<\/p>\n\n\n\n
BBC News Africa<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" The office of South Sudan\u2019s First Vice-President, Riek Machar, says he has received calls from the generals who defected last week from the military wing of the Sudan People\u2019s Liberation Movement in Opposition (SPLM-IO). Gen Johnson Olony informed Mr Machar about their group\u2019s acceptance of the ceasefire, SPLM-IO’s communication director said. Mr Machar emphasised the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":27983,"featured_media":25782,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jnews-multi-image_gallery":[],"jnews_single_post":[],"jnews_primary_category":[],"jnews_paywall_metabox":[],"jnews_override_counter":[],"footnotes":""},"categories":[161],"tags":[31,6642,169],"class_list":["post-25780","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-world","tag-featured","tag-riek-machar","tag-south-sudan"],"yoast_head":"\n