The Joint Defense Board, which is in charge of monitoring the training and graduation of the Necessary Unified Troops (NUF), stated today that the long-awaited screening of forces would begin on Tuesday with the deployment of the Joint Screening and Reorganisation teams.
The screening and rearrangement of troops is required before the NUF may graduate.
South Sudan is intended to graduate 83,000 united troops recruited from multiple parties to take command of security during the current transitional phase, according to the 2018 peace agreement.
The JDB announced in mid-October that the soldiers will graduate in the first week of November. However, the process was slowed since the teams in charge of screening soldiers at the training locations were unable to get started due to a lack of logistical assistance.
According to government spokesman Michael Makuei Lueth, who talked to Radio Tamazuj on Monday, monies to help the screening process have been made available, and the teams will begin their work this week.
“The money has already been distributed, and the teams should be on their way to the states. Last Friday, the funds were released “he said
Major General Lul Ruai Koang, a military spokeswoman, also stated that resources have been made available and teams have been despatched.
“JDB briefed the teams traveling to Bahr el Ghazal, Upper Nile, and Equatoria for force screening and rearrangement this morning. The teams are all set. The team heading to Equatoria will begin work tomorrow morning, while the squad heading to Bahr el Ghazal and the Upper Nile will depart on Wednesday “Ruai expressed his thoughts.
He goes on to say, “As a result, the financial concerns that caused the delay have been handled. The money was delivered by NTC and given to the JDB, and the teams are now ready to begin work.”
The three teams, according to Ruai, have a total of 272 people and are anticipated to finish screening in the next two weeks.
“The Equatoria crew will start their work at Rejaf, then move on to Maridi, Moroto, and other locations. Because the territory is large and mainly flooded, the team travelling to Upper Nile state has been split into two. One team will be stationed in Malakal and will conduct screenings in nearby locations. Because we have two facilities in Bentiu, the second team will travel there “Ruai elaborated. “However, the team travelling to Bahr el Ghazal will visit three centers there since the roads are excellent and there aren’t many floods.”
At the past, peace monitors have raised worry about poor circumstances in training camps, which have prompted a large number of troops to desert owing to a lack of food, medicine, and shelter.
Ruai advised soldiers who had abandoned training areas or fled for personal reasons to return to camp right away.
“All troops who have left the training sites to see relatives, go to the hospital, or attend to personal problems,” he said, “it is now time for them to return to the training facilities.”
According to a spokeswoman for the South Sudan People’s Defence Forces, while the screening is taking place, the president will strive to unify the leadership of the forces, following which the forces will be graduated.
