A leading SPLA-IO general Saddam Chayot Manyang has died in the Sudanese capital, Khartoum on Tuesday.

According to SPLM-IO officials, the rebel general died of liver cancer after a lengthy battle with the illness.

“General Saddam died on Tuesday in Khartoum after he has been fighting liver cancer,” an SPLM-IO official said.

General Saddam Chayot rebelled in 2013 after the outbreak of the ongoing civil war and joined the Riek Machar-led rebel group in its fight against the government of President Salva Kiir Mayardit.

He served as the SPLM-IO governor of Maiwut State. He was in his late 50s when he died.