S. Sudan army graduation might be delayed due to the postponed first unified command workshop.

The general headquarters of the South Sudan People’s Defense Force (SSPDF) has urged trainees awaiting graduation to be patient.

The Joint Defense Board IO spokesperson and member of the JBD Col. Lam Pual Gabriel says there are 50,000 forces who are ready to graduate in one months’ time.

However, he says there are likely to be more delays in the graduation of forces since the first workshop of the unified command was postponed. He says there’s still a need to build trust within the unified command structures so they are able to work together as a unit.

According to Bilpham, the April 3 agreement’s two-month preparation period had not yet expired, necessitating the need to allow the government time to prepare the graduation.

SSPDF spokeswoman Maj. Gen. Lul Ruai recently explained in a report seen by NCMP that the graduation would take place as agreed upon by the principals and that no troops would be released until the ceremony was completed.

Lul was responding to a request from certain individual trainees at the Mapel Joint Training Centre in Western Bahr el Ghazal State, who asked the government to enable them to travel and care for their families. The trainees contended that they would return for graduation when it was time.

“We finished training a long time ago and are now ready to graduate.” We’re in the midst of the rainy season; our children are exhausted at home, and we’re tired at the training facility.”

“I am a soldier, and I must suffer the circumstances, but it should not be to this extent; it should not be for hunger, with no food, no money for my family, and no graduation.” This is excessive. You are welcome to come and see the situation for yourself. “There is no food at all,” said Garang, a trainee at Mapel Training Centre, according to Eye Radio.

“I’m ready to go.”

“We simply want the government to graduate us so we can go back to our children,” he concluded. We cannot remain here for almost four years since the government is unable to conduct the graduation, for reasons we do not comprehend.’

In answer, Gen. Lul stated that the SSPDF rules and regulations do not permit this, although authorization might be given to a person who needs to respond to a critical family situation.

“Such a request isn’t feasible. You cannot allow all trainees to leave and return as required! “That cannot happen,” Maj. Gen. Lul stated.

“According to the SSPDF norms and regulations, one requests authorization as an individual and is permitted to leave and return.”

“It is not there that all the troops are authorized to go,” he continued. It doesn’t work like that.”

Since 2020, around 50,000 combined forces have finished training and are on their way to becoming part of the 83,000 required united troops outlined in Chapter Two of the renewed peace accord.

According to the peace monitoring mechanism, the dismal circumstances in the training sites, along with many unmet promises to graduate, has prompted over half of the joint trainees to flee in search of food, water, medication, and shelter.

President Salva Kiir and First Deputy Dr. Riek Machar, as well as Vice President Hussein Abdelbagi, recently achieved an agreement, ending long-standing conflicts over command structure and agreed to graduate the first batch of the requisite united troops within two months, beginning April 3.

“When the agreement was signed on Sunday, April 3, the president agreed that the graduation of troops would be hastened so that it would take place within two months of the date of signing the agreement.” “So, we’re hopeful that [the graduation] will take place around that time,” Gen. Lul remarked.