The ceasefire and transitional security monitors say they have been denied freedom of movement while trying to leave Juba to reach Yei for an assessment.

The ceasefire monitoring group, CTSAMM, says it notified the authorities early this month, including the Joint Military Ceasefire Commission, of its intention to travel to Yei for an assessment.

The monitors say they received assurances that access would be granted.

But in a statement last evening, CTSAMM said they were stopped at a checkpoint on the outskirts of Juba when they began their journey.

“The CTSAMM would like to reiterate that it has a legal right to be present in South Sudan as stipulated in Chapter II of the ARCSS, and condemns, in the strongest terms, the denial of freedom of movement for the CTSAMM MVTs,” partly read the statement.

“The CTSAMM is operating according to processes and accords which have been agreed to by the former warring Parties, regional and international partners.”

“Not notified”

In response, the SPLA spokesperson, Brigadier-General Lul Ruai says the army had not been notified by the monitors.

“We were not notified,” Brig Ruai told Eye Radio.

“The agreement says, whenever CTSAMM is going for assessment, for verification, they must have on their team representatives from the SPLA and from the SPLA-IO.

“In this case, none of those parties was present in the team that had wanted to go to Yei.”

But CTSAMM says this was a denial of freedom of movement for their monitors. It called for intervention from the transitional government.