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JUBA. — South Sudan rebel leader Riek Machar has fired two high-ranking commanders, exposing widening rifts within the rebel movement and possibly weakening his negotiating hand at the latest peace talks.

Machar’s move is seen as a way of silencing two vocal generals who contributed to a recent rift between the political and military arms of the rebel movement.

The rebels said Machar had sacked Major General James Gadet, the deputy military commander of the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement-In Opposition (SPLM-IO) and Major General Gathoth Gatkuoth, the deputy chief of general staff for logistics. Gadet has been the subject of sanctions by the United States, European Union and most recently the United Nations, which accuses him of “fuelling the ongoing conflict and contributing to the devastating humanitarian crisis” in South Sudan. — Reuters.