February 2, 2021 (KHARTOUM) - The head of the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement-North, Malik Agar, on Tuesday dismissed Ismail Khamis Jalab from the position of SPLM-N Secretary-General with immediate effect.

On January 31, Jalab held a press conference where he accused Agar of neglecting the movement’s activities and focusing only on his homeland, the Blue Nile.

He also said that Arman is encroaching upon the competences of the Secretary-General. However, he stressed that he does not intend to defect from the movement.

In a two-page statement on Tuesday, Agar said that Jalab exceeded the limits of his powers and established contacts with some institutions that are not willing to implement the peace agreement.

Also, Jalab tried to integrate militias and groups affiliated with the former regime, the group leader further said.

He "established parallel structures in Sennar, White Nile and Gezira states, ahead of the Chairman’s decision to rebuild the Movement," stressed Agar before to add that the press conference of 31 January was "a de facto split".

In February 2014, Agar had sacked Jalab from the SPLM-N accusing him of conducting attempts to split the movement with the support of the then Sudan’s ruling National Congress Party.

Last week, SPLM-N Deputy Chairman Yasir Arman accused the General Intelligence Service of working to divide the group.

The intelligence and security agencies "use the same methods of the old regime to divide the movements, distort the images of their leaders. and target them in ways that appear to be from within the movements," he said.

Jalab who is from Kordofan region reintegrated the SPLM-N Agar in November 2017, after the split of the movement into two factions one led by Agar and the other by Abdel Aziz al-Hilu.

(ST)