National Security, South Sudan army block establishment of UN base in Lobonok

JUBA – The South Sudan’s National Security Service (NSS) and the country’s army have prevented the United Nations Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS) to establish an base in the Central Equatoria state’s Lobonok Payam to protect against highway attacks, a UN spokesman has said.

Last week, David Shearer, the head of UN mission in South Sudan and Special Representative of the Secretary-General, said the world mission was deploying troops to Lobonok to establish a base for UN peacekeepers to provide protection against high-way attacks which have become alarming in recent days.

However, the peacekeeping mission said in a statement this evening that members of South Sudan’s National Security Service and the South Sudan People’s Defense Force (SSPDF) have blocked the UNMISS access to Lobonok effectively undermining the establishment of the UN base in the restive Equatoria region village.

“A team of 92 Ethiopian and Nepalese peacekeepers left Juba for Lobonok last week to establish a temporary operating base in response to a request from local communities concerned about their safety following clashes between the National Salvation Front and forces belonging to the SSPDF and SPLA-IO,” the UN mission said in a statement quoted by Radio Tamazuj.

“NSS [National Security Service] and SSPDF [South Sudan People’s Defense Forces] are yet to provide a reason for the access denial. UNMISS wants to avoid a confrontation with security forces and is impressing on government at all levels that the Mission needs to carry out its mandate neutrally and impartially to protect civilians in the region who have told us they feel at risk,” the statement added.

For his part, the South Sudan army spokesman Major General Lul Ruai Koang confirmed separately that the army has given a green light for the establishment of the UNMISS base and suggested that the army’s permission may have not reached the forces deployed there.

“What I know is that the UN Mission was given permission by our Chief of Defense Forces to go to Lobonok to assess the security situation there. So, if the UN peacekeepers have been blocked along the way, maybe our forces there did not receive the information on the permission given to UNMISS,” Lul said.

“Sometimes information reaches late to the military forces deployed to the checkpoints. So what I can confirm is that the UN Mission had been given permission to dispatch its team to Lobonok. Our office is also open to meet UNMISS if they are still facing hurdles along the way to Lobonok,” the army spokesman further said.