South Sudan rebel general returns to Juba

South Sudan’s top rebel military commander Simon Gatwech Dual returned to Juba on Monday in a key step forward in a floundering peace process, calling for an end to war.
“We are one South Sudan,” rebel chief of staff Dual shouted, waving a walking stick in the air as he marched off the plane after landing in the capital, followed by over one hundred rebel troops.
He was welcomed by top government army commanders, surrounded by heavily armed troops from both the government and rebels.
“We are here to implement the peace agreement,” Dual said, referring to a long-delayed and repeatedly broken August 2015 agreement.
His return, flying on a specially chartered plane from neighbouring Ethiopia, is hoped to pave the way for the arrival of rebel chief Riek Machar, who fled Juba when the war broke out in December 2013.
Machar is due to forge a unity government with his arch-rival, President Salva Kiir, returning to the post of vice-president he was sacked from months before the violence began.
Dual was welcomed by the commander of the presidential guards, General Marial Chanuong.
Both men have been sanctioned by both the UN and United States for their role in the more than two-year war in which tens of thousands have been killed.
Rebel spokesperson William Ezekiel said that 195 troops landed along with Dual, to provide security for Machar, who he said hoped to return on Tuesday.