South Sudan peace forces in Upper Nile to graduate next week – spokesman

JUBA – Thousands of necessary unified forces in the Greater Upper Nile State are expected to be graduated in Malakal town next week, according to a senior opposition official who is one of the spokesmen of the Joint Defense Board.

Speaking to Sudans Post on Friday, Brig. Gen. Wijang Duop, the spokesman of South Sudan Opposition Alliance (SSOA) forces said in Wau during the graduation of nearly 13,000 peace forces that the peace parties have resolved to graduate over 20,000 of the Necessary Unified Forces (NUF) in Malakal.

“This graduation (in Wau) is yet another development in our commitment to the full implementation of the security arrangement as provided for in the revitalized peace deal and next week, we will graduate about 20,000 of the Necessary Unified Forces for Greater Upper Nile region,” he said.

The senior military official further revealed that preparations were already being made for the minister of defense Angelina Teny, and the presidential security Tut Gatluak Manimeh, to travel to Malakal for the graduation next week.

“As we are talking to you in Western Bahr el Ghazal state’s capital Wau, preparations are being made by the National Transitional Committee [led by General Tut Gatluak] for the Hon. Presidential Security Advisor and the National Minister of Defense] to travel to Malakal for that function,” he said.

Under the revitalized peace agreement, over 83,000 peace forces drawn from all the signatories of the revitalized peace agreement were to be graduated and deployed to important towns such as the capital Juba and state capitals to provided security.

As the first transitional period comes to an end in less than four months, that arrangement has not been fulfilled as parties have given several excuses ranging from international arms embargo and sanctions to lack of will for the implementation of the agreement.

The parties in August agreed to extended the transitional period saying the remaining period would not be enough for the implementation of the remaining critical tasks of the peace agreement which must be fulfilled before conduct of general elections slated for end of the transitional period.