South Sudan has made a significant step toward recovery from civil conflict with the graduation of the first batch of the united armed forces today, Tuesday, which comprises components from formerly hostile organisations.
The administration blamed the lack of guns on the UN Security Council’s arms embargo against South Sudan.
As a result, the grads carried wooden weapons during the ceremony.
After successfully completing their training, South Sudan President Salva Kiir urged the batch of over 2,000 troops and other personnel to avoid political and ethnic conflicts.
You are no longer the military wing of any group as of today. Salva Kiir remarked, “You now belong to the people of South Sudan,” urging them to treat all South Sudanese as equals.
This year, over 50,000 troops are scheduled to graduate from the unified forces, who will be deployed across national security forces, police, jail services, and even wildlife services.
Kiir and his erstwhile rival-turned-deputy, Riek Machar, announced earlier this year that the transition phase, which was scheduled to lead to the countrys first elections since independence from Sudan in 2011, will be postponed until 2024.
Machar, the former opposition leader, regarded security readiness as the foundation of the peace pact. He believes a new age has dawned.
South Sudan intends to graduate 83,000 security personnel.
Juba graduates the first cohort of united soldiers, armed with wooden guns and members of competing organisations.
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