Unified forces to be handed over to respective units for deployment: Gatluak

The Presidential Adviser on National Security Affairs Tut Gatluak Manime said that some of the recently graduated unified forces will be handed over to their respective units for redeployment.

This was revealed by Gatluak after briefing President Salva Kiir on implementation of the security arrangements.

“We will hand over forces to different units for their deployment, and we will enroll new forces to training centers before the raining season,” Gatluak told journalists in Juba.

 He said they hope by next week to start redeployment of the first batch of these unified forces.

 “We want to use the summer season to train phase two, the process for phase two, the enrolling of new forces in training centers and deployment of graduated forces as directed by the President and his deputies,” Gatluak said.

Gatluak said they do not want any forces who never signed the 2018 revitalized peace to deploy near training centers. He was referring to soldiers under  renegade Generals Simon Gatwech Dual and Johnson Olony who have been fighting around Upper Nile and northern Jonglei since August last year.

“We do not want forces outside the training centers, anyone who has signed the revitalized peace agreement must have his forces in training centers, we want the country to be in peace,” he said.   

The Presidency at the meeting resolved to redeploy necessary unified forces that have been graduated since August last year to the South Sudan People’s Defence Force.

Over 52,000 unified forces consisting of police, army, national security services, wild life and prisons have been graduated.

The parties are supposed to graduate total of 83,000 unified forces to take charge of security during the ongoing transitional period.