President Salva Kiir has urged the organized security forces to cooperate with the Regional Protection Force and the UN peacekeepers.

In August last year, the UN Security Council approved the 4,000-strong force, a month after the outbreak of deadly violence in Juba.

It is mandated to protect key installations such as the airport, facilitate the delivery of humanitarian assistance, and use all means to prevent attacks from any armed groups.

“Now your role as security forces is not to fight these forces, the RPF or the forces of UNMISS you have to cooperate with them,” President Kiir told hundreds of senior officers in a gathering in Juba.

“You need to be vigilant and you must cooperate with those forces,” he said. “You must show them the best part of this country.”

Last month, a row erupted between the SPLA and the RPF over who will protect the Juba International Airport.

According to the Presidential Press Secretary, Ateny Wek Ateny, the first batch of the RPF had deployed at the airport and they were asked to pull out.

In response, UNMISS told Eye Radio in an email that the RPF is mandated by the UN Security Council under Resolution 2304 – 2016 to “protect the airport to ensure the airport remains operational, and protect key facilities in Juba essential to the well-being of the people of Juba”.