UN reports undeclared ammunition transported to Juba by one of its contingents

JUBA – The United Nations Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS) has reported an incident to the government of South Sudan involving undeclared ammunition being transported into the country by one of its contingents arriving in the country.

The UN mission said in a statement seen by Sudans Post today that 16 boxes of undeclared ammunition were found on a charter flight that landed in Juba yesterday.

The ammunition was not listed on the manifest provided to and cleared by the government.

According to UNMISS, the unidentified contingent did not inform the mission of its intention to transport the ammunition, despite prior instructions prohibiting it due to lack of clearance.

The mission said that upon discovering the ammunition during unloading, it immediately informed “all relevant government authorities.”

Special Representative of the Secretary-General and Head of UNMISS, Nicholas Haysom, emphasized in the statement that UNMISS took immediate action to alert the South Sudanese authorities.

“The UN Mission itself took immediate action to alert the South Sudanese authorities to what he terms as a regrettable incident as soon as the mission became aware,” Haysom is quoted in the statement as saying.

The matter will be raised with the troop-contributing country for further action, added the UN diplomat.

Though the UN did not identify the country involved, the incident coincided with the arrival of the 10^th Sri Lankan contingent of the Sri Lanka Army Medical Corps (SLAMC) in South Sudan.

This contingent, led a lieutenant-colonel, comprises 64 army personnel and will assume duties at the Level-2 SRIMED Hospital within UNMISS.