South Sudan armed opposition leader Peter Gatdet dies in Khartoum
Rebel General Peter Gatdet Yaka gestures as he speaks to South Sudan’s rebel leader Riek Machar (not seen) in a rebel controlled territory in Jonglei State February 1, 2014. REUTERS/Goran Tomasevic
April 16th 2019 (Nyamilepedia) – Prominent South Sudanese opposition leader and rebel commander, Gen. Peter Gatdet Yaka has passed away in the Sudanese capital Khartoum following a short illness, his aides and close relatives has confirmed.
His former spokesman, Gatkuoth Mut Turoah was quoted by the Nyamilepedia as saying “Yes it’s true, Gen. Gatdet died of heart attack in Khartoum at 08:00PM Sudan local time.”
Gen. Gatdet was one of the SPLA fighters who switched side several times. He was a member of the South Sudan Defence Forces (SSDF), led by Gen. Matip Nhial Nyah until he rejoined the SPLA after the Juba Declaration of 8 January 2006, but said that he was marginalized and that the army was dominated by tribal nepotism.
In April 2011 Gadet defected again and emerged as leader of the South Sudan Liberation Army (SSLA), a new militia demanding a more broadly-based government.
In August the same year, Gatdet’s movement declared a ceasefire with the government. Gadet integrated his forces into the army and became the 8th Division Commander.
In 2013, Gen. Gatdet mutinied against South Sudan’s army following a mass killing of Nuer civilians in Juba by a government militia and security forces.
Following the formation of the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement in Opposition (SPLM-IO), Gatdet fought under Dr. Riek Machar who then became the leader of the newly established movement.
In July 2014, the European Union imposed sanctions on Gadet accusing him of leading an attack of the town of Bentiu, in which several unarmed civilians – mostly from Darfur – were allegedly killed.
It was not clear what the Darfuri civilians were doing in the town although it has been vacated five months early by the natives following the recapture of the town by government forces from rebel forces in January 2014.
He however defected in 2015 after rejecting a peace agreement that maintained President Kiir in power. He later on formed his own movement and named it South Sudan United Movement and Army (SSUM/A).
In September 2018, as a part of an opposition umbrella known as South Sudan Opposition Alliance (SSOA), Gen. Gatdet signed a peace agreement in Addis Ababa with the government of President Salva Kiir along with other opposition groups.
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