[3] In August 1991 Riek Machar, Lam Akol and Chuol announced in the Nasir Declaration that John Garang had been ejected from the SPLM.
Riek Machar arrested the commanders who had become involved in this fighting between SSIA sections and put them up for trial.
[5] Gordon Kong signed the Khartoum peace agreement with the government in 1997, and was appointed a commander with the South Sudan Defence Forces (SSDF) under Riek Machar.
[9] Paulino Matiep accepted the agreement, but Gordon Kong proclaimed himself the new SSDF Commander-in-Chief, saying that his forces still supported the Sudan Government.
A newspaper report speculated that while Matiep was looking at political opportunities in the Government of South Sudan, Gordon Kong was looking at potential gains from control of the oil-rich Bentiu area.