July 21st 2019 (Nyamilepedia) — South Sudan’s rival forces – the government and revel forces – have been ordered to report to cantonment sites, a much-awaited step towards creating a unified national army as part of a peace accord.
In September last year, South Sudan government and opposition groups signed a revitalized peace agreement in the Ethiopian capital Addis Ababa.
The agreement provides for the cantonment of rival forces which has not been successful since the deal was signed.
One of the biggest hurdles facing the creation of such sites where troops and rebels are screened, trained and integrated into a single force is the logistical issue.
Officials from the Joint Defense Board (JDB), comprising military commanders from the army and rebel forces, told journalists on Friday in Juba that it had secured food and other essentials to begin the programme.
“JDB today made a very big decision,” SPLA-IO spokesman Col. Lam Paul Gabriel told journalists in Juba over the weekend. “Today they have made it very clear that forces by tomorrow should report to cantonment sites immediately.”
