“Forget past, go in for reconciliation,” South Sudanese Archbishop-Elect Tells Soldiers

The rivals, who inked a peace deal in September 2018 under pressure from the United Nations, the United States and regional bloc IGAD have previously postponed two deadlines to form the unity government, first in May 2019 as envisaged in R-ARCSS and then in November.

The South Sudanese Prelate whose December 12 transfer to Juba Archdiocese was followed by protests with the Conference of Bishops supporting the Papal decision also called on his compatriots to unite and work for peace and development in the country.

“We need to unite together as we go for a new chapter in our country, not the country of chaos and I wish you all the best as you travel for your training,” he told the soldiers.

On the same occasion, the Governor of Torit state urged the forces to stay away from politics and inject efforts in protecting citizens and their properties.

“There is no politics in the military, politicians who want to join will come to us but soldiers are defenders of the country and this is your role,” Governor Tobiol Alberio Oromo told the army men and emphasized, “We need your services, if you have accepted to be a soldier; we need you to defend us,” he said.

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According to the Area Joint Military Ceasefire Committee, the 8,786 soldiers of Sudan People’s Liberation Army in Opposition (SPLA-IO) and South Sudan’s Opposition Alliance were drawn from the cantonments of Nation’s region of Eastern Equatoria.

Instructors were deployed in the training centres as part of the ongoing efforts to establish a unified national army, by the end of December 2019, reliefweb has reported.

The military personnel will be trained in Maple while policemen, prison officers and fire brigade personnel will be based at the Masanu Beera training centre on the outskirts of Wau, a city in northwestern South Sudan. The troops are coming mainly from the Ngo Halima and Grinity cantonment sites.