![R-JMEC Chief of Staff, Ambassador Berhanu Kebede [Photo by R-JMEC]](https://i0.wp.com/www.sudanspost.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/Ambassodor.jpeg?resize=850%2C455&ssl=1)
Only 4,000 out of the 53,000 peace forces who were graduated in 2022 have been deployed, according to RJMEC chief of staff Berhanu Kebede.
“Regarding completion of the unification of forces, there has been no substantive progress since the reported redeployment of 4,000 Phase I Necessary Unified Forces during the last quarter,” Kebede said during a parliamentary address in Juba.
“RJMEC recommends RTGONU provide as a matter of urgency, all the resources necessary to deploy the remaining NUF, complete harmonization of the command structure so that the country can have a unified force with a national character under one commander-in-chief,” he added.
Kebede also stressed the need to fund the Disarmament, Demobilization, and Reintegration (DDR) process, a critical component of unification, and welcomed the validation of a security sector policy framework.
However, Kebede noted slow progress in Phase II NUF training and dire conditions in cantonment sites due to shortages of food, medicine, water, and shelter.
The ongoing depreciation of the South Sudanese Pound has compounded the humanitarian crisis, Kebede said, inflating food prices and leaving 9 million people acutely food insecure.
Returnees from Sudan also face severe shortages.
Kebede highlighted ongoing challenges faced by humanitarian organizations, including taxation of relief materials, illegal checkpoints, and insecurity.
He commended efforts to improve the business environment and provide microfinance services but urged the passage of key legislation to ensure sustainability.
Kebede further called for the swift enactment of bills establishing the Commission for Truth, Reconciliation and Healing (CTRH) and the Compensation and Reparation Authority (CRA), approved by the Council of Ministers in December 2023.
