Kiir says opposition forces must report to training centers with guns

JUBA, MARCH 27, 2023 (SUDANS POST) — President Salva Kiir Mayardit on Monday directed opposition forces to report to training and cantonment centers with their weapons during the second phase of the unification of process.

Speaking during the reopening of the national transition parliament on Monday, Kiir said any soldier expected to report to training sites must come with their weapons.

“The second phase of cantonment will require those joining the training to come in with their weapons. Doing this will help us greatly in maintaining internal order such as disarming the civil population,” Kiir said.

He stressed the need to remove unauthorized arms from the hands of civilians in order to address the issue of persistent security, communal conflict, and cattle rusting.

“Unless we totally remove unauthorized arms in the hands of civilians, we wouldn’t address the issue of persistent security, communal conflict, cattle rusting, and conflict between pastoralists and farmers have their root in weapons in the hands of our civil population,” he said.

He said in the first phase of unification, soldiers were allowed into cantonment sites with guns which resulted in them graduating with sticks.

“As you are aware during phase one of cantonment, we allowed opposition forces to come to training centers without weapons,” he said.

“The end result of this decision was that we ended up graduating these troops with a stick because of unjustified arm embargo imposed on us didn’t permit us to procure arms,”  he added.