South Sudan’s unity government has begun the deployment of the unified military force – using soldiers from both sides of the conflict that ended in 2018 – to the different regions of the country.
The deployment is seen as a key benchmark of the September 2018 revitalised peace agreement, signed by President Salva Kiir and his former archrival, Riek Machar, who is now the first vice-president.
The initial batch of troops that left the capital, Juba, on Wednesday morning. It was made up of a battalion of 750 soldiers heading to Upper Nile State’s capital, Malakal, in the north of the country.
Another group will be heading to Northern Bahr El-Ghazal in the north-west of the country.
In August last year 53,000 soldiers – the first for the unified armed forces – graduated – making them the first police and army officers trained for national service since South Sudan’s independence in 2011.
These soldiers were expected to be deployed immediately but this was held up.
In July, President Salva Kiir announced that the country’s long-delayed elections will be held next year. The polls scheduled for December 2024, will be the first in the world’s newest country.