South Sudan parties order forces to return to training sites for graduation

JUBA – South Sudan soldiers who quit their training and cantonment centers due to lack of food, shelter, and medicines have been directed to report to their respective centers for screening ahead of graduation.

The directive came after the Joint Defense Board formed a team to embark on screening of forces in the training centers of Equatoria, Bahr el Ghazal, and Upper Nile regions to prepare them for graduation.

Speaking to Sudans Post on Monday morning, SPLA-IO Spokesman Colonel Lam Paul Gabriel called on the soldiers to report to back to their respective training centers as soon as possible in a bid to kick off the screening.

“We are calling on those forces that have left training centers in one way or another, behind their control to be able to return to training centers so that we will be able to screen them,” Lam told said.

Lam said the screening team has been formed and is now ready to start the screening of the Necessary Unified Forces at training centers.

“There is a team that has been put in place to go to training centers to screen and organize forces. We can’t send the team to training centers when the forces are not there,” said spokesman.

He disclosed that the National Transitional Committee (NTC) led by President Salva Kiir’s security advisor Tut Gatluak would preposition necessary logistics required to facilitate the screening processes.

“National Transitional Committee (NTC) is going to provide food in training centers and when that happened then everything will start to work out,” he said.

Under the 2018 revitalized peace deal, Joint Defense Board is charged with the responsibility of organizing, training, and professionalizing the unified army while NTC supervises the implementation of the entire peace deal.

The parties to the peace deal are behind schedule when it comes to training and graduation of expected 83,000 unified forces to take charge of security during the ongoing transitional period.

Peace monitors have in the past expressed concern over appalling conditions in training and cantonment sites that have caused a sizable number of soldiers especially those from the opposition to desert due to lack of food, medicines, and shelters in addition to flooding.