The Sudan People’s Liberation Army-in Opposition (SPLA-IO) denied it suspended the Chief of General Staff Gen. Simon Gatwech Dual.

Speaking to Radio Tamazuj on Tuesday, SPLA-IO deputy spokesman Lam Paul Gabriel dismissed as fake a letter shared on social media claiming that the SPLA-IO Chief of Staff Gen. Simon Gatwech had been suspended and replaced with Gen. Gabriel Duop Lam.

The military officer described the report as negative propaganda. “The letter is fake and no decision was taken to suspend the chief of general staff,” Lam explained.

In March, Gen. Simon Gatwech Dual affirmed his support for SPLM/A-IO leader Riek Machar amid defections in the main opposition group’s military wing.

The most powerful general said he supports Machar in his agenda to create unified forces in the country.

On February 21, President Salva Kiir appointed five vice presidents, including opposition leader Riek Machar, meeting a twice-missed deadline to form a transitional government as part of a power-sharing deal signed in September 2018.

President Kiir and opposition leaders have yet to create a unified army, a key requirement of the peace deal.